Genetic and molecular dissection of temperature-controlled rhythms in development in Neurospora crassa

光和温度条件在一天中发生了巨大的变化，准确预测和应对这些变化的有机体增加了它们的生存机会。这项任务是由一种内部计时机制实现的，这种机制被称为生物钟。生物钟帮助生物体在细胞内组织日常活动，以便它们在一天中的适当时间发生。因此，如果没有功能时钟，细胞过程就会变得杂乱无章，导致健康、发育缺陷和疾病的减少。所有已知的生物钟都是由有节奏地表达的时钟基因和时钟蛋白构成的。虽然单个生物钟的组成部分已经被分离，但有一些证据表明，可能存在大量的生物钟，它们要么相互独立地工作，要么以分层的主从方式组织起来。为了研究是否存在额外的细胞时钟，我们建议利用粗糙脉孢菌，这是一种简单的真菌和模式生物，其中无性孢子的发育由生物钟控制。脉孢菌产孢子的节律可以很容易地用一种现成的分析方法显示出来。孢子产生的节律模式也可以在脉孢子菌的突变体中看到，在这些突变体中，已知的生物钟的成分缺失。在这些时钟突变体中，当脉孢子菌在高温和低温交替循环中生长时，孢子产生的节律是最可靠的。我们建议调查这些节律是否源于另一个生物钟，或者是由非生物钟机制驱动的。因此，利用这些时钟突变体，我们的目标是确定通常由生物钟控制的额外时钟的成分或孢子发育的调节因子。我们的研究将揭示控制发育和生理上的日常节奏的因素，这些因素对于生活在和已经适应节奏世界的所有有机体的生存至关重要。

Light and temperature conditions change dramatically over the course of the day and organisms that accurately predict and respond to these changes increase their chances of survival. This task is made possible by an internal timing mechanism, known as the circadian clock. Circadian clocks help organisms to organize daily events within the cell, so that they occur at appropriate times of the day. Consequently, without a functional clock, cellular processes become disorganized, resulting in reduced fitness, developmental defects, and disease. All known circadian clocks are built from rhythmically expressed clock genes and clock proteins. Although the components of single circadian clocks have been isolated, there is some evidence that a multitude of circadian clocks may exist that act either independently from each other or are organized in a hierarchical 'master-slave' manner. To investigate whether additional cellular clocks exist we propose to utilize Neurospora crassa, a simple fungus and model organism in which the development of asexual spores is controlled by the circadian clock. Neurospora's rhythm in spore production can be easily visualized in a readily available assay. Rhythmic patterns of spore production are also seen in Neurospora mutants from which the components of the known circadian clock are absent. In these clock mutants the rhythms in spore production are most reliably visualized when growing Neurospora in alternating cycles of high and low temperature. We propose to investigate whether these rhythms are due to another circadian clock, or driven by a non-clock mechanism. Thus, using these clock mutants, we aim to identify components of additional clocks or regulators of spore development that are usually controlled by the circadian clock. Our research will reveal factors that control daily rhythms in development and physiology that are vital for survival of all organisms that live and have adapted to a rhythmic world.