 |
|
Study shows more genes are controlled by biological clocks
August 29, 2008The tick-tock of your biological clock may have just gotten a little louder.
Researchers at the University of Georgia report that the number of genes under control of in living things than suspected only a few years ago. The biological clock in a much-studied model organism is dramatically higher than previously reported. The new study implies that the clock may be much more important
"This new finding may help to explain why the clock is so far-reaching in its effects on the organism," said Jonathan Arnold, a professor in the UGA department of genetics and director of the research project. "We found that some 25 percent of the genes in our model organism appear to be under clock control. I wasn't suspecting anything remotely like that."
The new research, just published in the Public Library of Science One, also shows how Arnold's team used a new methodology called Computing Life to yield these new discoveries about biological clocks. And this tool of systems biology was the key to showing what makes a biological clock tick.
In addition to Arnold, authors of the paper include Wubei Dong, James Griffith, Roger Nielsen and Rosemary Kim in the department of genetics, and Xiaojia Tang, Yihai Yu and Bernd Schuttler of the department of physics and astronomy. Griffith also has an appointment in the College of Environmental and Agricultural Sciences. The department of genetics is in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.
The team's new discoveries about the extent of genes under the control of the biological clock and the utility of Computing Life came from studying genes in Neurospora crassa-bread mold. In fact, much of what science knows about biological clocks has come from studying Neurospora.
Before the current research, only 16 clock-controlled genes had been discovered in Neurospora in more than 40 years of research. Arnold's team uncovered a remarkable 295 genes that are influenced by the biological clock-and that number could be dramatically higher, given the conservative controls the researchers put on their work.
"It appears the clock influences a number of biological processes, including cell cycling, protein metabolism and varied signaling processes," said Arnold. "But perhaps the most important role we've seen so far is the clock's role in ribosome biogenesis."
Ribosomes assemble individual amino acids into polypeptide chains by binding a messenger RNA and then using this as a template to connect the correct sequence of amino acids. Ribosome biogenesis is the process of making ribosomes, so knowledge that the process is under clock control adds a dramatic new dimension to the clock's inherent biological value as an adaptation.
The new Computing Life technology, refined in the Arnold and Schuttler labs, integrates several cycles of modeling and experiments to yield discoveries about a genetic network. Using Computing Life, the scientists were able to unravel how a network of genes and their products tell time, thereby demonstrating the solution of one of the key problems in systems biology.
"The resulting molecular mechanism or genetic network for the clock identified by this mode-guided discovery process will have a broad appeal to geneticists, physiologists and those with an interest in signaling pathways," said Arnold. "The methods used to characterize what makes a biological clock tick will have numerous applications in finding genetic networks describing other complex traits in many biological systems."
Computing Life will also allow researchers to design a sequence of genomics experiments that will winnow the field of competing hypotheses and to move experiments in directions where new discoveries are likely to arise.
Biological clocks hold the key to much of life and disease processes. In February 2007, Arnold's team reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the first working model that explains how biological clocks operate. The UGA scientists discovered how three genes in Neurospora make such a clock tick at the molecular level.
That discovery also had broad implications for understanding biochemical signaling and other regulatory processes in cells, Arnold said.
University of Georgia
The new research, just published in the Public Library of Science One, also shows how Arnold's team used a new methodology called Computing Life to yield these new discoveries about biological clocks. And this tool of systems biology was the key to showing what makes a biological clock tick.
In addition to Arnold, authors of the paper include Wubei Dong, James Griffith, Roger Nielsen and Rosemary Kim in the department of genetics, and Xiaojia Tang, Yihai Yu and Bernd Schuttler of the department of physics and astronomy. Griffith also has an appointment in the College of Environmental and Agricultural Sciences. The department of genetics is in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences.
The team's new discoveries about the extent of genes under the control of the biological clock and the utility of Computing Life came from studying genes in Neurospora crassa-bread mold. In fact, much of what science knows about biological clocks has come from studying Neurospora.
Before the current research, only 16 clock-controlled genes had been discovered in Neurospora in more than 40 years of research. Arnold's team uncovered a remarkable 295 genes that are influenced by the biological clock-and that number could be dramatically higher, given the conservative controls the researchers put on their work.
"It appears the clock influences a number of biological processes, including cell cycling, protein metabolism and varied signaling processes," said Arnold. "But perhaps the most important role we've seen so far is the clock's role in ribosome biogenesis."
Ribosomes assemble individual amino acids into polypeptide chains by binding a messenger RNA and then using this as a template to connect the correct sequence of amino acids. Ribosome biogenesis is the process of making ribosomes, so knowledge that the process is under clock control adds a dramatic new dimension to the clock's inherent biological value as an adaptation.
The new Computing Life technology, refined in the Arnold and Schuttler labs, integrates several cycles of modeling and experiments to yield discoveries about a genetic network. Using Computing Life, the scientists were able to unravel how a network of genes and their products tell time, thereby demonstrating the solution of one of the key problems in systems biology.
"The resulting molecular mechanism or genetic network for the clock identified by this mode-guided discovery process will have a broad appeal to geneticists, physiologists and those with an interest in signaling pathways," said Arnold. "The methods used to characterize what makes a biological clock tick will have numerous applications in finding genetic networks describing other complex traits in many biological systems."
Computing Life will also allow researchers to design a sequence of genomics experiments that will winnow the field of competing hypotheses and to move experiments in directions where new discoveries are likely to arise.
Biological clocks hold the key to much of life and disease processes. In February 2007, Arnold's team reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the first working model that explains how biological clocks operate. The UGA scientists discovered how three genes in Neurospora make such a clock tick at the molecular level.
That discovery also had broad implications for understanding biochemical signaling and other regulatory processes in cells, Arnold said.
University of Georgia
Biological Clock Current Events and Biological Clock News RSSNew medication brings hope of jet lag cure
A team of researchers from Monash University, The Brigham and Women's Hospital (Boston), Harvard Medical School and Vanda Pharmaceuticals has found a new drug with the potential to alleviate jet lag and sleep disorders caused by shift work.
Old flies can become young moms
Female flies can turn back the biological clock and extend their lifespan at the same time, University of Southern California biologists report.
Seasonal Affective Disorder May Be Linked to Genetic Mutation, Study Suggests
With the days shortening toward winter, many people will begin to experience the winter blahs. For some, the effect can be devastating.
A Therapy for Baby Boomers to Sleep On
If you're over 55 and have spent more than a few sleepless nights, you're not alone -- insomnia affects about half of all people over 55 ― but you may also be at increased risk for physical and mental ailments.
Study identifies food-related clock in the brain
In investigating the intricacies of the body's biological rhythms, scientists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have discovered the existence of a "food-related clock" which can supersede the "light-based" master clock that serves as the body's primary timekeeper.
Molecular 'clock' could predict risk for developing breast cancer
A chemical reaction in genes that control breast cancer provides a molecular clock that could one day help researchers more accurately determine a woman's risk for developing breast cancer and provide a new approach for treatment, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have found.
Different Processes Govern Sight, Light Detection
A Johns Hopkins University biologist, in research with implications for people suffering from seasonal affective disorder and insomnia, has determined that the eye uses light to reset the biological clock through a mechanism separate from the ability to see.
NYU dental professor discovers biological clock
Why do rats live faster and die younger than humans? A newly discovered biological clock provides tantalizing clues.
Systems biology approach identifies nutrient regulation of biological clock in plants
Using a systems biological analysis of genome-scale data from the model plant Arabidopsis, an international team of researchers identified that the master gene controlling the biological clock is sensitive to nutrient status.
Bioclocks work by controlling chromosome coiling
In recent years, scientists have discovered that biological clocks help organize a dizzying array of biochemical processes in the body. Despite a number of hypotheses, exactly how the microscopic pacemakers in every cell in the body exert such a widespread influence has remained a mystery.
More Biological Clock Current Events and Biological Clock News Articles
 | Rewinding Your Biological Clock: Motherhood Late in Life : Options, Issues, and Emotions by Richard J. Paulson, Judith Sachs In 1996, headlines around the world announced that 63-year-old Arceli Keh had just become the oldest woman in the world to give birth. Dr. Richard Paulson had assisted Mrs. Keh by using a donor egg and in vitro fertilization. This incredible example of how assisted reproductive technologies, or ART, can change the course of nature has raised tough biological, emotional, and ethical issues that... |
 | The Living Clock: The Orchestrator of Biological Rhythms by John D. Palmer From one-celled paramecium to giant blue whales, we all have internal clocks that regulate the rhythms we live by. In The Living Clock, John Palmer, one of the world's leading authorities on these rhythms, takes us on a tour of this broad and multifaceted subject, examining everything from glowing fruit flies to the best cures for jet lag. Palmer has a wonderful sense of humor and an eye... |
 | Biological Clocks: Your Owner's Manual by Susan Binkley Designed as an "operator's manual," this lively guide introduces students and lay readers to the subject of human chronobiology. It describes biological clocks and the methods used to measure rhythms of humans and animals. It explains how we are synchronized with our 24-hour environment using time cues and how external time cue deprivation affects activity and rest times in the individual's... |
 | The Male Biological Clock: The Startling News About Aging, Sexuality, and Fer by Harry Fisch Say "biological clock" and most people think "women." Yet men have biological clocks too, reveals Dr. Harry Fisch, one of the country's leading experts in male infertility and author of this groundbreaking new book, The Male Biological Clock. Men's clocks tick at a different rate from women's and of course cause an entirely different set of bodily and behavioral changes over the course of a... |
| The Timing of Biological Clocks by Arthur T. Winfree | |
 | The Seasons of Astrology: How Your Biological Clock is the Link to Your Sun Sign Personality by Terence Guardino The Seasons of Astrology: How Your Biological Clock is the Link to Your Sun Sign Personality explains how astrology works with illustrative stories of many Hollywood celebrities. Hollywood astrologer Terence Guardino brings nearly thirty years experience with fascinating anecdotes from his celebrity clients. Guardino explains why astrology is not only scientifically valid but how it is an... |
| The male biological clock: is time running out for your?: An article from: Ebony by Kevin Chappell This digital document is an article from Ebony, published by Johnson Publishing Co. on June 1, 2005. The length of the article is 1330 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Citation DetailsTitle: The male... | |
| Biological Clocks (World Naturalist) by J.L. Cloudsley-Thompson | |
 | The Male Biological Clock: The Startling News About Aging, Sexuality, and Fertility in Men by Harry Fisch Part fertility guide, part owner's manual to the male reproductive system, The Male Biological Clock attempts to ditch some of the numerous existing myths about men's roles in pregnancy while introducing up-to-date medical research on hormones and health. In modern culture, the words "male" and "biological clock" aren't typically seen together, but Dr. Harry Fisch has news: after the age of 35,... |
| Eat Right or Die Young: When Will Your Biological Clock Stop? by Cass Igram, Judy Kay Gray |
| © 2008 BrightSurf.com |