Circadian clocks can take a few transcriptional knocks

cAMP-regulated dynamics of the mammalian circadian clock

Previous molecular description of the mammalian timekeeping mechanism was based mainly on transcriptional/translational feedback loops (TTFLs). However, a recent experimental report challenges such a molecular architecture, showing that the cAMP signaling is an indispensable component of the mammalian circadian clock. In this paper, we develop a reduced mathematical model that characterizes the mammalian circadian network. The model with 8-state differential equations incorporates both TTFLs and cAMP-mediated feedback loop. In agreement with experimental observations, our results show that: (1) the model simulates sustained circadian (23.4-h periodic) oscillations in constant darkness and entrained circadian dynamics by light-dark cycles; (2) circadian rhythmicity is lost without cAMP signaling; (3) the system is resilient to large fluctuations in transcriptional rates; (4) it successfully simulates the phenotypes of Per1(-/-)/Per2(-/-) double-mutant mice and Bmal1(-/-) mutant mice. Our study implies that to understand the circadian pacemaking in suprachiasmatic nucleus neurons, the TTFLs should not be isolated from intracellular cAMP-dependent signaling.

Robustness: mechanisms and consequences

Biological systems are robust to perturbation by mutations and environmental fluctuations. New data are shedding light on the biochemical and network-level mechanisms responsible for robustness. Robustness to mutation might have evolved as an adaptation to reduce the effect of mutations, as a congruent byproduct of adaptive robustness to environmental variation, or as an intrinsic property of biological systems selected for their primary functions. Whatever its mechanism or origin, robustness to mutation results in the accumulation of phenotypically cryptic genetic variation. Partial robustness can lead to pre-adaptation, and thereby might contribute to evolvability. The identification and characterization of phenotypic capacitors - which act as switches of the degree of robustness - are critical to understanding the mechanisms and consequences of robustness.