Light entrained rhythmic gene expression in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis: the evolution of the animal circadian clock.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Circadian rhythms in behavior and physiology are the observable phenotypes from cycles in expression of, interactions between, and degradation of the underlying molecular components. In bilaterian animals, the core molecular components include Timeless-Timeout, photoreceptive cryptochromes, and several members of the basic-loop-helix-Per-ARNT-Sim (bHLH-PAS) family. While many of core circadian genes are conserved throughout the Bilateria, their specific roles vary among species. Here, we identify and experimentally study the rhythmic gene expression of conserved circadian clock members in a sea anemone in order to characterize this gene network in a member of the phylum Cnidaria and to infer critical components of the clockwork used in the last common ancestor of cnidari

SUBMITTER: Reitzel AM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2943474 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature