The circadian timing system synchronizes cellular function by coordinating rhythmic transcription via a transcription-translational feedback loop. How the circadian system regulates gene expression at the translational level remains a mystery. Here, we show that the key circadian transcription factor BMAL1 associates with the translational machinery in the cytosol and promotes protein synthesis...

The circadian clock is a ubiquitous timekeeping system that organizes the behavior and physiology of organisms over the day and night. Current models rely on transcriptional networks that coordinate circadian gene expression of thousands of transcripts. However, recent studies have uncovered phylogenetically conserved redox rhythms that can occur independently of transcriptional cycles. Here we...

The Intracellular levels of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+)) are rhythmic and controlled by the circadian clock. However, whether NAD(+) oscillation in turn contributes to circadian physiology is not fully understood. To address this question we analyzed mice mutated for the NAD(+) hydrolase CD38. We found that rhythmicity of NAD(+) was altered in the CD38-deficient mice. The high, ch...

Circadian clocks generate 24-hr rhythms in physiology and behavior. Despite numerous studies, it is still uncertain how circadian rhythms emerge from their molecular and neural constituents. Here, we demonstrate a tight connection between the molecular and neuronal circadian networks. Using fluorescent transcriptional reporters in a Drosophila ex vivo brain culture system, we identified a recip...

Circadian rhythms are intimately linked to cellular metabolism. Specifically, the NAD(+)-dependent deacetylase SIRT1, the founding member of the sirtuin family, contributes to clock function. Whereas SIRT1 exhibits diversity in deacetylation targets and subcellular localization, SIRT6 is the only constitutively chromatin-associated sirtuin and is prominently present at transcriptionally active ...

Self-sustainable oscillation of KaiC phosphorylation has been reconstituted in vitro, demonstrating that this cycle is the basic time generator of the circadian clock of cyanobacteria. Here we show that the ATPase activity of KaiC satisfies the characteristics of the circadian oscillation, the period length, and the temperature compensation. KaiC possesses extremely weak but stable ATPase activ...

The circadian clock in the suprachiasmatic nuclei is composed of multiple, single-cell circadian oscillators (clock cells). We now test the hypothesis that the circadian period in behavior is determined by the mean period that arises from the coupling of clock cells with diverse circadian periods. For these studies, we monitored firing rate rhythms of individual suprachiasmatic nuclei neurons o...

This paper reviews some of the compelling evidence of disrupted circadian rhythms in individuals with mood disorders (major depressive disorder, seasonal affective disorder, and bipolar disorder) and that treatments such as bright light, designed to alter circadian rhythms, are effective in treating these disorders. Neurotransmitters in brain regions implicated in mood regulation exhibit circad...

Circadian clocks that comprise clock genes exist throughout the body and control daily physiological events. The central clock that dominates activity rhythms is entrained by light/dark cycles, whereas peripheral clocks regulating local metabolic rhythms are determined by feeding/fasting cycles. Nutrients reset peripheral circadian clocks and the local clock genes control downstream metabolic p...

The circadian regulatory network is organized in a hierarchical fashion, with a central oscillator in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) orchestrating circadian oscillations in peripheral tissues. The nature of the relationship between central and peripheral oscillators, however, is poorly understood. We used the tetOFF expression system to specifically restore Clock function in the brains of Clo...