BHLH-PAS protein RITMO1 regulates diel biological rhythms in the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum.

ABSTRACT: Periodic light-dark cycles govern the timing of basic biological processes in organisms inhabiting land as well as the sea, where life evolved. Although prominent marine phytoplanktonic organisms such as diatoms show robust diel rhythms, the mechanisms regulating these processes are still obscure. By characterizing a Phaeodactylum tricornutum bHLH-PAS nuclear protein, hereby named RITMO1, we shed light on the regulation of the daily life of diatoms. Alteration of RITMO1 expression levels and timing by ectopic overexpression results in lines with deregulated diurnal gene expression profiles compared with the wild-type cells. Reduced gene expression oscillations are also observed in these lines in continuous darkness, showing that the regulation of rhythmicity by RITMO1 is not directl

SUBMITTER: Annunziata R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6600994 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature