title: Post-translational timing mechanisms of the Drosophila circadian clock.
abstract: Circadian clocks allow a temporal coordination and segregation of physiological, metabolic, and behavioural processes as well as their synchronization with the environmental cycles of day and night. Circadian regulation thereby provides a vital advantage, improving an organisms' adaptation to its environment. The molecular clock can be synchronized with environmental cycles of day and night, but is able to maintain a self-sustained molecular oscillation also in the absence of environmental stimuli. Interlocked transcriptional-translational feedback loops were shown to form the basis of circadian clock function in all phyla from bacteria, fungi, plants, insects to humans. More recently post-translational regulation was identified to be equally important, if not sufficient for molecular clock function and accurate timing of circadian transcription. Here we review recent insights into post-translational timing mechanisms that control the circadian clock, with a particular focus on Drosophila. Analogous to transcriptional feedback regulation, circadian clock function in Drosophila appears to rely on inter-connected post-translational timers. Post-translational regulation of clock proteins illustrates mechanisms that allow a precise temporal control of transcription factors in general and of circadian transcription in particular.
authors.affiliation: University of Heidelberg Biochemistry Center (BZH), Im Neuenheimer Feld 328, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany. Frank.Weber@bzh.uni-heidelberg.de
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zorn
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rademacher
authors.forename: Hsiu-Cheng
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Hung
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D057906:Circadian Clocks; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D011499:Protein Processing, Post-Translational
chemical_list: D019476:Insect Proteins