Molecular analysis of Arabidopsis circadian regulation

描述（由申请人提供）：拟议研究的长期目标是更好地了解真核生物昼夜节律的分子基础。这些研究将在拟南芥中进行，拟南芥是一种非常适合遗传和生物化学方法的模式生物。虽然在拟南芥中已经确定了假定的时钟组件，但它们调节昼夜节律的机制尚不清楚。此外，中央时钟控制输出的方式，使它们发生在一天中最有利的时间是未知的。拟议的研究使用遗传和生物化学方法来解决这些基本问题。首先，将定位克隆一个负责改变昼夜节律调节的基因，并启动其他克隆项目。第二，时钟控制相位特异性基因调控的机制将被探索，并确定一种新的时钟调控的转录激活因子。这些研究将大大提高我们对生物钟调节机制的理解，这些信息最终可能通过治疗昼夜节律紊乱来改善人类健康。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long-term goal of the proposed research is to better understand the molecular basis of circadian rhythms in eukaryotes. These studies will be carried out in Arabidopsis thaliana, a model organism well suited to genetic and biochemical approaches. Although putative clock components have been identified in Arabidopsis, the mechanism by which they regulate circadian rhythms is unclear. In addition, the means by which the central clock controls outputs so that they occur at the most advantageous time of day is unknown. The proposed studies use genetic and biochemical approaches to address these fundamental questions. First, a gene responsible for altered circadian regulation will be positionally cloned and other cloning projects will be initiated. Second, the mechanism by which the clock controls phase-specific gene regulation will be explored and a novel clock-regulated transcriptional activator identified. These studies will greatly improve our understanding of clock regulatory mechanisms, information that ultimately may be used to improve human health through treatment of circadian disorders.