Protein synthesis requirement of the Aplysia circadian clock. Tested by active and inactive derivatives of the inhibitor anisomycin.

1. The circadian rhythm of compound action potential frequency recorded from the isolated eye of Aplysia in culture medium and darkness was subjected to 6 h pulse treatments with either anisomycin, a protein synthesis inhibitor, or inactive derivatives of anisomycin. 2. Anisomycin caused phase-dependent phase shifts of the rhythm as expected from previous experiments, but none of the derivative molecules caused phase shifts or perturbed the rhythm. 3. Anisomycin inhibited eye-protein synthesis by 75% at the concentrations (10(-6) M) used in the phase shifting experiments but none of the derivatives inhibited synthesis. 4. Only those molecules that actually inhibited protein synthesis caused phase shifts of the clock, although the inactive derivatives differed from anisomycin by only an acetyl group. 5. The results strengthen the conclusion that the inhibition of protein synthesis caused by anisomycin is important in perturbing the timing of the circadian clock and not some other characteristic effect of the inhibitor molecule. Together with the results from other systems, these findings imply that the daily synthesis of protein is a general requirement for circadian clocks.