Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 11, 2026
10:38
Monitoring Cell-autonomous Circadian Clock Rhythms of Gene Expression Using Luciferase Bioluminescence Reporters
Published on: September 27, 2012
Genetic interactions between clock mutations in Neurospora crassa: can they help us to understand complexity?
L W Morgan1, J F Feldman, D Bell-Pedersen
1Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3248, USA.
Summary
Neurospora circadian clock research is expanding beyond the frequency (frq) and white-collar (wc) genes. New models suggest a complex system with multiple coupled oscillators, including metabolic components.
Area of Science:
- Mycology
- Chronobiology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Circadian clocks regulate daily rhythms in organisms.
- Neurospora crassa has been a model organism for circadian clock research.
- Previous studies focused on frequency (frq) and white-collar (wc) genes.
Purpose of the Study:
- Review Neurospora clock-affecting mutations.
- Discuss genetic interactions of these mutations.
- Propose a complex, multi-oscillator model for the Neurospora circadian clock.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of existing research on Neurospora circadian clock mutants.
- Analysis of genetic interactions between different clock-affecting loci.
- Theoretical modeling of coupled oscillator systems.
Main Results:
- Identified multiple genes affecting circadian period and temperature compensation beyond frq and wc.
- Highlighted the role of cellular metabolism in circadian rhythms.
- Presented evidence for multiple coupled oscillators in Neurospora.
Conclusions:
- The Neurospora circadian clock is more complex than previously thought.
- A model with at least two coupled oscillators, one FRQ/WC-based and another potentially metabolic, is proposed.
- Further research is needed to elucidate the 'frq-less' oscillator and its metabolic connections.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
02:45Biological Clocks and Seasonal Responses
The circadian—or biological—clock is an intrinsic, timekeeping, molecular mechanism that allows plants to coordinate physiological activities over 24-hour cycles called circadian rhythms. Photoperiodism is a collective term for the biological responses of plants to variations in the relative lengths of dark and light periods. The period of light-exposure is called the photoperiod.
02:19Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation
The biological clock is involved in many aspects of regulating complex physiology in all animals. It was in 1935 when German zoologists, Hans Kalmus and Erwin Bünning, discovered the existence of circadian rhythm in Drosophila melanogaster. However, the internal molecular mechanisms behind the circadian clock remained a mystery until 1984, when Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash, and Michael W. Young discovered the expression of the Per gene oscillating over a 24-hour cycle. In subsequent years,...
03:09Meiosis I
Meiosis is the division of a diploid cell into haploid cells forming sperm and eggs in animals through differentiation. Meiosis I is the first stage of meiosis, where the genetic recombination of homologous chromosomes and the reduction of the ploidy level by half occurs.
Prophase I is the most extended and complex step of meiosis I characterized by synapsis, chromosome pairing, and recombination of the homologous chromosomes. This process is facilitated by a proteinaceous structure called the...
Prophase I is the most extended and complex step of meiosis I characterized by synapsis, chromosome pairing, and recombination of the homologous chromosomes. This process is facilitated by a proteinaceous structure called the...
02:19Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation
The biological clock is involved in many aspects of regulating complex physiology in all animals. It was in 1935 when German zoologists, Hans Kalmus and Erwin Bünning, discovered the existence of circadian rhythm in Drosophila melanogaster. However, the internal molecular mechanisms behind the circadian clock remained a mystery until 1984, when Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash, and Michael W. Young discovered the expression of the Per gene oscillating over a 24-hour cycle. In subsequent years,...
01:17Gene Regulation During Sporulation
Sporulation is a complex developmental process that allows certain Gram-positive bacteria, such as Bacillus subtilis and Clostridium species, to survive extreme environmental conditions. This process is tightly regulated by a series of signaling cascades and transcriptional controls, ensuring the formation of a highly resistant endospore.Sporulation is triggered by unfavorable conditions, such as nutrient depletion, and is governed by a phosphorelay system. One of the sensor kinases, such as...
01:18Mutations in Microorganisms
Mutations are heritable changes in an organism’s genome involving alterations in the base sequence of DNA or RNA. These changes can influence cellular processes and phenotypic traits, potentially transforming the unaltered wild type into a mutant form. Such changes, termed forward mutations, are pivotal in shaping the genetic diversity of organisms.RNA viruses exhibit the highest mutation rates due to the absence of robust proofreading mechanisms during genome replication. In contrast,...