title: Molecular analysis of the Neurospora clock: cloning and characterization of the frequency and period-4 genes.
abstract: Genetic analysis of Neurospora crassa has identified many mutants that affect the biological clock. In this article we review the cloning of two of these genes, frq and prd-4. Both genes were isolated using a chromosome walk technique. Subcloning experiments and subsequent Northern analysis of frq implicate the importance of two transcripts that emanate from this locus. In preliminary data, no protein-coding region is evident in the smaller transcript; the larger transcript contains a 962-amino acid open reading frame. The open reading frame shows limited homology to per, a clock gene identified in Drosophila. Sequence analysis of all existing frq alleles suggests that the defect in each case lies within the open reading frame. Successful cloning of the prd-4 gene required walking a distance of greater than 40 kb. A physical map of this region has been constructed using restriction analysis. The dominance-recessive relationship of prd-4 and prd-4+ was established by examining the period lengths of strains harboring a wide range of prd-4/prd-4+ nuclear ratios.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, NH 03755-3844.
authors.forename: B D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Aronson
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Dunlap
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001683:Biological Clocks / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D005800:Genes, Fungal; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009492:Neurospora crassa / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D005656:Fungal Proteins