Information Transfer in the Mammalian Circadian Clock

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Most species evolved a circadian clock to adapt to the 24 h period of the solar day. In mammals, these clocks generate endogeneous rhythms by regulatory gene networks in almost every cell. A pacemaker, the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) as the master clock, receives light input and orchestrates peripheral organs via sympathetic enervation, temperature and humoral factors. In our project we address the following questions: How is information of Zeitgeber signals encoded in cellular and behavioral rhythms? How do networks of noisy SCN cells reliably transmit light input to output rhythms? What are the transcriptional regulations allowing communication from the SCN to peripheral organs? To address these questions we combine experimental data from single cells, organotypic slices and behavioral activity rhythms with mathematical models of coupled oscillators. Moreover, with bioinformatic methods we study the combinatorial and epigenetic regulations of clockcontrolled genes.