Hirayama Jun, Sassone-Corsi Paolo
Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, BP 10142, 67404 Illkirch, Strasbourg, France.
Curr Opin Genet Dev. 2005 Oct;15(5):548-56. doi: 10.1016/j.gde.2005.07.003.
Most organisms adapt the timing of their physiology to the cyclic changes of the environment with the use of intrinsic time-keeping systems called circadian clocks. Central features of the molecular clock mechanism are transcription- and translation-based negative feedback loops: clock genes and their products interact to generate oscillation of specific transcripts and proteins, and, ultimately, circadian rhythmicity and behavior. Various transcription factors constitute the molecular clock, and the signal transduction cascades governing their function appear to be crucial for the fine-tuning of the circadian cycle.
大多数生物体利用称为生物钟的内在计时系统，使其生理活动的时间与环境的周期性变化相适应。分子钟机制的核心特征是基于转录和翻译的负反馈环：时钟基因及其产物相互作用，产生特定转录本和蛋白质的振荡，最终导致昼夜节律性和行为。各种转录因子构成了分子钟，而调控其功能的信号转导级联反应似乎对昼夜节律周期的微调至关重要。
