| A circadian clock is not required in an arctic mammal. | |
| | |
MedLine Citation:
|
PMID: 20226667 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
|
Seasonally breeding mammals use the annual change in the photoperiod cycle to drive rhythmic nocturnal melatonin signals from the pineal gland, providing a critical cue to time seasonal reproduction. Paradoxically, species resident at high latitudes achieve tight regulation of the temporal pattern of growth and reproduction despite the absence of photoperiodic information for most of the year. In this study, we show that the melatonin rhythm of reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) is acutely responsive to the light/dark cycle but not to circadian phase, and also that two key clock genes monitored in reindeer fibroblast cells display little, if any, circadian rhythmicity. The molecular clockwork that normally drives cellular circadian rhythms is evidently weak or even absent in this species, and instead, melatonin-mediated seasonal timing may be driven directly by photic information received at a limited time of year specific to the equinoxes. |
| | |
Authors:
|
Weiqun Lu; Qing-Jun Meng; Nicholas J C Tyler; Karl-Arne Stokkan; Andrew S I Loudon |
Related Documents
:
|
16978867 - Analysis of synaptic bodies in the sprague-dawley rat pineal gland under extreme photop... 17435367 - Seasonal variations of melatonin secretion in young females under natural and artificia... 10626597 - Effect of stimulation of endogenous melatonin secretion during constant light exposure ... 2765617 - A role of melatonin in the initial stage of photoperiodism in the japanese quail. 8533327 - Speed gradients and the perception of surface slant: analysis is two-dimensional not on... 17623237 - Development of force measurement system for clinical use in minimal access surgery. |
Publication Detail:
|
Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Date: 2010-03-11 |
Journal Detail:
|
Title: Current biology : CB Volume: 20 ISSN: 1879-0445 ISO Abbreviation: Curr. Biol. Publication Date: 2010 Mar |
Date Detail:
|
Created Date: 2010-03-25 Completed Date: 2010-07-02 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
|
Nlm Unique ID: 9107782 Medline TA: Curr Biol Country: England |
Other Details:
|
Languages: eng Pagination: 533-7 Citation Subset: IM |
Copyright Information:
|
2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. |
Affiliation:
|
Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M139PT, UK. |
Export Citation:
|
APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
|
Animals Arctic Regions Cells, Cultured Circadian Rhythm / physiology* Fibroblasts / metabolism Genes, Reporter Melatonin / blood Mice Periodicity Photoperiod Rats Reindeer / blood, physiology* Seasons Species Specificity Transduction, Genetic |
| Grant Support | |
ID/Acronym/Agency:
|
BB/E022553/1//Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council |
| Chemical | |
Reg. No./Substance:
|
73-31-4/Melatonin |
| Comments/Corrections | |
Comment In:
|
Curr Biol. 2010 Mar 23;20(6):R280-2
[PMID:
20334837
]
|
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
Previous Document: Regulation of cytokinesis by the formin cdc12p.
Next Document: Phosphorylation of TFIIB Links Transcription Initiation and Termination.