title: Circadian rhythms in murine pups develop in absence of a functional maternal circadian clock.
abstract: A genetic approach was used to investigate whether the emergence of circadian rhythms in murine pups is dependent on a functional maternal clock. Arrhythmic females bearing either the mPer1Brdm1/Per2Brdm1 or mPer2Brdm1/Cry1-/- double-mutant genotype were crossed with wild-type males under constant darkness. The heterozygous offspring have the genetic constitution for a functional circadian clock. Individual pups born to arrhythmic mPer1Brdm1/Per2Brdm1 and mPer2Brdm1/Cry1-/- mothers in constant darkness without external zeitgeber developed normal circadian rhythms, but their clocks were less synchronized to each other compared to wild-type animals. These findings indicate that development of circadian rhythms does not depend on a functional circadian clock in maternal tissue, extending previous findings obtained from pups born to SCN-lesioned mothers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Biochemistry, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Corinne
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jud
authors.forename: Urs
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Albrecht
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001683:Biological Clocks; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D056931:Cryptochromes; D005260:Female; D005420:Flavoproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D006579:Heterozygote; D008124:Locomotion; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008954:Models, Biological; D008957:Models, Genetic; D009035:Mothers; D009068:Movement; D009154:Mutation; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D056950:Period Circadian Proteins; D013493:Suprachiasmatic Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D013997:Time Factors; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; C538964:Cry1 protein, mouse; D056931:Cryptochromes; D005420:Flavoproteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; C539023:Per1 protein, mouse; C513312:Per2 protein, mouse; D056950:Period Circadian Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors