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Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Rapid Analysis of Circadian Phenotypes in Arabidopsis Protoplasts Transfected with a Luminescent Clock Reporter
Published on: September 17, 2016
Circadian rhythmicity mediated by temporal regulation of the activity of p38 MAPK
Michael W Vitalini1, Renato M de Paula, Charles S Goldsmith
1Center for Biological Clocks Research, Faculty of Genetics, and Program for the Biology of Filamentous Fungi, 3258 TAMU Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
Abstract:
Circadian clocks are composed of central oscillators, input pathways that transduce external information to the oscillators, and output pathways that allow the oscillators to temporally regulate cellular processes. Little is known about the output pathways. In this study, we show that the Neurospora crassa osmosensing MAPK pathway, essential for osmotic stress responses, is a circadian output pathway that regulates daily rhythms in the expression of downstream genes. Rhythmic activation of the highly conserved stress-activated p38-type MAPK [Osmotically Sensitive-2 (OS-2)] by the N. crassa circadian clock allows anticipation and preparation for hyperosmotic stress and desiccation that begin at sunrise. These results suggest a conserved role for MAPK pathways in circadian rhythmicity.
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