Gateway to discovering the Mechanism for adapting the Circadian Clock in Insects discovered
June 27, 2013
The various insects that live in multiple environments are thought to have their internal clocks adapted to each environment.
The clock genes, cycle and Clock, have a major role in the circadian clock mechanism. While the cycle gene is expressed regularly and the Clock gene is rhythmically expressed in light/dark cycles in Drosophila, the expression pattern of both genes is reversed in other insects, such that Clock is expressed regularly and cycle is expressed rhythmically.
O. Uryu, K. Tomioka and their colleague in the Okayama University Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology have cloned a cDNA of the clock gene cycle (cycle) and analyzed its structure and function to dissect the molecular oscillatory mechanism of the circadian clock in the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus.
The results showed that the cycle gene is rhythmically expressed in light/dark cycles, peaking at midnight in Gryllus bimaculatus. In addition, when the cycle mRNA was knocked down and its rhythmic expression abolished, the Clock gene became rhythmically expressed.
These facts suggest that the cricket might have a unique clock oscillatory mechanism in which both cycle and Clock are rhythmically controlled and that under abundant expression of cycle the rhythmic expression of the Clock may be concealed.
It is expected that If the circadian clock mechanism of the cricket were to be revealed, the adaptation mechanisms of insect clocks could be understood.
The findings were published online May 27, 2013 in the Journal of Insect Physiology.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022191013001030
The study was funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).
Contact Information:
Mototaka Senda, Ph.D.
US Representative
Intellectual Property Office, Organization for Research Promotion and Collaboration
Okayama University
Fremont, California USA
TEL: 1-510-797-0907
Email: takasenda@okayama-u.ac.jp
Kenji Tomioka, Ph.D.
Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, Okayama Japan