Cyanobacteria, circadian rhythms

The most ubiquitous biological rhythms are those that occur with a period close to 24 h in all eukaryotes and in some prokaryotes such as cyanobacteria. These circadian rhythms allow organisms to adapt to the natural periodicity of the terrestrial environment, which is characterized by the alternation of day and night due to rotation of the earth on its axis. Circadian clocks provide cells with an endogenous mechanism, allowing them to anticipate the time of day. 

Experimental advances during the last decade have clarified the molecular bases of circadian rhythms, first in Drosophila and Neurospora, and more recently in cyanobacteria, plants, and mammals [95-99]. In nearly all cases investigated so far, it appears that circadian rhythms originate from the negative... 

Uzumaki, T., Fujita, M., Nakatsu, T., Hayashi, F., Shibata, H., Itoh, N., Kato, H., and Ishiura, M. (2004). Role of KaiA functional domains in circadian rhythms of cyanobacteria revealed by crystal structure. Nature Struct. Mol. Biol. 11, 623-631. 

Iwasaki, H., and Kondo, T. (2004). Circadian timing mechanism in the prokaryotic clock system of cyanobacteria. J. Biol. Rhythms 19, 436-444. 

Xu, Y., Mori, T., and Johnson, C.H. (2000). Circadian clock-protein expression in cyanobacteria rhythms and phase setting EMBO J. 19, 3349-3357. 

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