Molecular Basis of the Circadian Mechanism

9407948摘要描述了舞毒蛾生殖道中控制精子释放和成熟的昼夜节律系统。该系统的特点是在时间生物学和生理水平，包括一个时间表，其发展过程中的成年变态。在分子水平上对该系统的研究已经开始，并分离出三个时钟相关（cr）基因，它们的转录丰度似乎以昼夜节律的方式波动。将确定CR基因是否以及如何参与时钟机制。在通过光或温度重置昼夜节律机制后的昼夜节律系统发育过程中，以及在使用RNA酶保护测定和逆转录-PCR破坏节律性的条件下，将检查三种CR基因丰度的变化。此外，将通过原位杂交研究对应于CR探针的mRNA的细胞定位。 昼夜节律普遍存在于生物体的各个层次或组织中，从基因转录到行为。尽管昼夜节律具有根本的重要性，但驱动它们的生物钟的分子身份仍然是现代生物学中尚未回答的重要问题之一。本研究利用舞毒蛾雄性生殖道精子释放和成熟的简单昼夜节律系统来探讨生物钟的分子基础。 ***

9407948 Abstract A circadian system was described which controls sperm release and maturation in the make reproductive tract of the gypsy moth. The system was characterized at both the chrono-biological and physiological level, including a time-table for its development during adult metamorphosis. Study of this system at the molecular level was initiated and resulted in the isolation of three clock related(cr) genes whose transcript abundance appear to fluctuate in a circadian fashion. A determination will be made as to whether and how CR genes are involved in the clock mechanism. Changes in the abundance of the three CR genes will be examined during the course of development of circadian system after resetting of the circadian mechanism by light or temperature, and in conditions which disrupt rhythmicity using an RNAse protection assay and reverse transcription-PCR. In addition, cellular localization of mRNAs corresponding to CR probes will be studied by in situ hybridizations. %%% Circadian rhythms are ubiquitous in living organisms at every level or organization, from gene transcription to behavior. Despite the fundamental importance of circadian rhythms, the molecular identity of the clock that drives them remains one of the significant unanswered questions of modern biology. In this study, a simple circadian system of an insect, sperm release and maturation in the male reproductive tract of the gypsy moth, is used to explore the molecular basis of the biological clock. ***