posted on 2016-02-18, 11:10authored byJ. S. O'Neill, Kate D. Lee, Lin Zhang, K. Feeney, S. G. Webster, Matthew James Blades, Charalambos P. Kyriacou, M. H. Hastings, D. C. Wilcockson
In contrast to the well mapped molecular orchestration of circadian timekeeping in terrestrial organisms, the mechanisms that direct tidal and lunar rhythms in marine species are entirely unknown. Using a combination of biochemical and molecular approaches we have identified a series of metabolic markers of the tidal clock of the intertidal isopod Eurydice pulchra. Specifically, we show that the overoxidation of peroxiredoxin (PRX), a conserved marker of circadian timekeeping in terrestrial eukaryotes [1], follows a circatidal (approximately 12.4 hours) pattern in E. pulchra, in register with the tidal pattern of swimming. In parallel, we show that mitochondrially encoded genes are expressed with a circatidal rhythm. Together, these findings demonstrate that PRX overoxidation rhythms are not intrinsically circadian; rather they appear to resonate with the dominant metabolic cycle of an organism, regardless of its frequency. Moreover, they provide the first molecular leads for dissecting the tidal clockwork.
History
Citation
Current Biology , 2015, 25 (8), pp. R326-R327
Author affiliation
/Organisation/COLLEGE OF MEDICINE, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND PSYCHOLOGY/MBSP Non-Medical Departments/Department of Genetics