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Circadian clock mutants of cyanobacteria
T Kondo1, N F Tsinoremas, S S Golden
1National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, Japan.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|November 18, 1994
Summary
Researchers identified novel cyanobacterial circadian clock mutants with varied periods and abnormal patterns. This work enables genetic dissection of the biological clock mechanism in these organisms.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Molecular Biology
- Chronobiology
Background:
- Circadian clocks regulate daily biological rhythms in many organisms.
- Cyanobacteria possess endogenous circadian clocks that can be studied genetically.
- Bioluminescence offers a sensitive reporter system for monitoring clock gene expression.
Purpose of the Study:
- To isolate and characterize novel circadian clock mutants in a cyanobacterial strain.
- To investigate the genetic basis of circadian rhythmicity in cyanobacteria.
- To establish a method for genetically dissecting the cyanobacterial circadian clock.
Main Methods:
- Chemical mutagenesis of bioluminescent cyanobacterial cells.
- Screening of 150,000 clones for altered circadian periods and patterns.
- Isolation of mutants exhibiting periods from 16 to 60 hours and arrhythmic behavior.
- Complementation cloning to identify mutated genes.
Main Results:
- Isolation of 12 mutants with diverse circadian periods (16-60 hours).
- Identification of 5 mutants displaying unusual patterns, including arrhythmia.
- Confirmation that mutations are specific to the circadian clock mechanism.
- Demonstration of successful complementation cloning for mutant genes.
Conclusions:
- A diverse collection of cyanobacterial circadian clock mutants has been generated.
- These mutants provide valuable tools for understanding circadian clock function.
- Complementation cloning facilitates the genetic dissection of the cyanobacterial circadian clock.
- This study advances the genetic analysis of biological clocks in prokaryotes.