The nuclear receptor genes HR3 and E75 are required for the circadian rhythm in a primitive insect.

ABSTRACT: Insect circadian rhythms are generated by a circadian clock consisting of transcriptional/translational feedback loops, in which CYCLE and CLOCK are the key elements in activating the transcription of various clock genes such as timeless (tim) and period (per). Although the transcriptional regulation of Clock (Clk) has been profoundly studied, little is known about the regulation of cycle (cyc). Here, we identify the orphan nuclear receptor genes HR3 and E75, which are orthologs of mammalian clock genes, Rorα and Rev-erbα, respectively, as factors involved in the rhythmic expression of the cyc gene in a primitive insect, the firebrat Thermobia domestica. Our results show that HR3 and E75 are rhythmically expressed, and their normal, rhythmic expression is required for the persistence of lo

SUBMITTER: Kamae Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4263706 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature