Resetting the circadian cycle
Article Abstract:
The working and resetting of the molecular cycle of the Circadian clock is a biological mechanism that is not well understood. However, simulating entrainment, the resetting, in the fungus Neurospora, through creating a false cycle of light and dark, can provide an elegant explanation of these formal entrainment properties that are common to all species. The clock defines the organism's day and night, and its direction and magnitude depends on the amount of light falling on it. The new model is based on autoregulatory loops using protein products of 'clock genes' such as 'frq' which plays a vital role in circadian time by inhibiting the expression of certain genes during one or the other cycle.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1995
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A cationic channel regulated by a vertebrate intrinsic circadian oscillator
Article Abstract:
An intrinsic circadian rhythm regulates the activity of a long open time (I(sub LOT)) cationic channel contained in cultured pineal cells of chicken. I(sub LOT) is a Ca2+ permeable channel and is active only during the night. Polarization affects the amplitude of the channel's current but has no effect on its opening. The kinetics of the channels are fitted by a sum of three exponential factors. The activity of I(sub LOT) is unaffected by short light pulses and the presence of cyclic nucleotides.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1996
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Ion channels get the message
Article Abstract:
Circadian rhythms control the activity of a nonselective cationic channel, I(sub long open time) (I(sub LOT)), contained in the chick pineal. I(sub LOT) is active only during the night, remains open for a long time, and is not gated by secondary messengers or voltage. The nocturnal activity of I(sub LOT) increases Ca2+ and cyclic AMP (cAMP) levels in pinealocytes. The increase in cAMP induces the synthesis of N-acetyltransferase and melatonin during the night.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1996
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