Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation

Circadian 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...

Biological Clocks and Seasonal Responses

Biological 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.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

How competition can drive allochronic divergence: A case study in the Marine Midge, Clunio marinus.

PLoS computational biology·2026

Same author

Beyond Mendel: a call to revisit the genotype-phenotype map through new experimental paradigms.

Genetics·2026

Same author

How an Insect Converts Time Into Space: Temporal Niches Aid Coexistence via Modifying the Amount of Habitat Available for Reproduction.

Ecology letters·2025

Same author

The Free-Running Circasemilunar Period Is Determined by Counting Circadian Clock Cycles in the Marine Midge <i>Clunio Marinus</i>.

Journal of biological rhythms·2024

Same author

Genetic analysis of a phenotypic loss in the mechanosensory entrainment of a circalunar clock.

PLoS genetics·2023

Same author

An oligogenic architecture underlying ecological and reproductive divergence in sympatric populations.

eLife·2023

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 4, 2025

Single-cell Resolution Fluorescence Live Imaging of Drosophila Circadian Clocks in Larval Brain Culture

Single-cell Resolution Fluorescence Live Imaging of Drosophila Circadian Clocks in Larval Brain Culture

Published on: January 19, 2018

Circalunar clocks-Old experiments for a new era.

Tobias S Kaiser¹, Jule Neumann¹

¹Max Planck Research Group "Biological Clocks", Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany.

Bioessays : News and Reviews in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology

|May 29, 2021

Summary

Organisms use circalunar clocks to time reproduction with lunar cycles, but the molecular basis remains elusive. New research and rigorous analysis of classic experiments are paving the way for understanding these complex biological rhythms.

Keywords:

biological clocks chronobiology ecophysiology evolution lunar rhythm marine biology reproductive rhythm

More Related Videos

Parallel Measurement of Circadian Clock Gene Expression and Hormone Secretion in Human Primary Cell Cultures

Parallel Measurement of Circadian Clock Gene Expression and Hormone Secretion in Human Primary Cell Cultures

Published on: November 11, 2016

Slice Preparation, Organotypic Tissue Culturing and Luciferase Recording of Clock Gene Activity in the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus

Slice Preparation, Organotypic Tissue Culturing and Luciferase Recording of Clock Gene Activity in the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus

Published on: February 15, 2011

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Nov 4, 2025

Single-cell Resolution Fluorescence Live Imaging of Drosophila Circadian Clocks in Larval Brain Culture

Single-cell Resolution Fluorescence Live Imaging of Drosophila Circadian Clocks in Larval Brain Culture

Published on: January 19, 2018

Parallel Measurement of Circadian Clock Gene Expression and Hormone Secretion in Human Primary Cell Cultures

Parallel Measurement of Circadian Clock Gene Expression and Hormone Secretion in Human Primary Cell Cultures

Published on: November 11, 2016

Slice Preparation, Organotypic Tissue Culturing and Luciferase Recording of Clock Gene Activity in the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus

Slice Preparation, Organotypic Tissue Culturing and Luciferase Recording of Clock Gene Activity in the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus

Published on: February 15, 2011

Area of Science:

Chronobiology
Lunar Biology
Molecular Biology

Background:

Circalunar clocks regulate reproduction timed to lunar phases, with experimental proof but limited molecular understanding.
A new generation of researchers is employing advanced tools to investigate the molecular mechanisms of circalunar rhythms.
Classic experiments provide foundational data, yet gaps in molecular understanding persist.

Purpose of the Study:

To provide an overview of seminal experiments on circalunar clocks.
To present novel findings, including a phase response curve for a circalunar clock from unpublished work.
To identify promising avenues for future molecular research and emphasize methodological rigor.

Main Methods:

Review and re-evaluation of classic experimental studies on circalunar rhythms.
Analysis of unpublished data, including the development of a phase response curve.
Highlighting logistical complexities and analytical requirements for circalunar clock experiments.

Main Results:

Classic experiments demonstrate the existence and function of circalunar clocks.
A novel phase response curve for a circalunar clock has been established.
The study identifies key areas for future molecular investigations.

Conclusions:

Circalunar clocks likely possess divergent molecular mechanisms across different species.
These clocks may exhibit distinct properties compared to well-studied circadian clocks.
Potential mechanistic and molecular links exist between circalunar rhythms, seasonal timing, and diapause.