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Circadian rhythms have been documented for centuries. For example, French astronomer Jean-Jacques d’Ortous de Mairan noted the periodic 24-hour movement of Mimosa plant leaves as early as 1729. However, science has only recently begun to uncover the cellular mechanisms responsible for driving observed circadian rhythms.
A circadian rhythm (/ s ər ˈ k eɪ d i ə n /), or circadian cycle, is a natural oscillation that repeats roughly every 24 hours.Circadian rhythms can refer to any process that originates within an organism (i.e., endogenous) and responds to the environment (is entrained by the environment).
The Rev-Erb proteins are members of the nuclear receptor (NR) superfamily of intracellular transcription factors and key regulatory components of the circadian clock. There are two forms of the receptor, Rev-Erb alpha and Rev-Erb beta, which are each encoded by a separate gene (NR1D1 and NR1D2, respectively). [1] [2]
[1] [2] Oscillating genes are usually circadian and can be identified by periodic changes in the state of an organism. Circadian rhythms, controlled by oscillating genes, have a period of approximately 24 hours. For example, plant leaves opening and closing at different times of the day or the sleep-wake schedule of animals can all include ...
Basic helix-loop-helix ARNT-like protein 1, or more commonly known as Bmal1, encodes for a transcriptional factor that when it heterodimerizes with Clock and Npas2 proteins, regulates gene expression for circadian rhythms via E-box elements. [53] It dictates the timing of different physiological process by synchronizing them to environmental cues.
In the brain, NPAS2 functions as a generator and maintainer of mammalian circadian rhythms. More specifically, NPAS2 is an activator of transcription and translation of core clock and clock-controlled genes through its role in a negative feedback loop in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), the brain region responsible for the control of ...
The Casein kinase 1 family (EC 2.7.11.1) of protein kinases are serine/threonine-selective enzymes that function as regulators of signal transduction pathways in most eukaryotic cell types. CK1 isoforms are involved in Wnt signaling, circadian rhythms, nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling of transcription factors, DNA repair, and DNA transcription. [1]
Timeless (tim) is a gene in multiple species but is most notable for its role in Drosophila for encoding TIM, an essential protein that regulates circadian rhythm. Timeless mRNA and protein oscillate rhythmically with time as part of a transcription-translation negative feedback loop involving the period (per) gene and its protein.