Structure, function, and mechanism of the core circadian clock in cyanobacteria

• Published in: The Journal of biological chemistry Vol. 293; no. 14; pp. 5026 - 5034
• Main Authors: Swan, Jeffrey A., Golden, Susan S., LiWang, Andy, Partch, Carrie L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 06.04.2018; American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Subjects: ATPases associated with diverse cellular activities (AAA); bacterial protein kinase; Bacterial Proteins - chemistry; Bacterial Proteins - genetics; Bacterial Proteins - metabolism; bacterial signal transduction; Circadian Clocks; circadian rhythm; Circadian Rhythm Signaling Peptides and Proteins - chemistry; Circadian Rhythm Signaling Peptides and Proteins - genetics; Circadian Rhythm Signaling Peptides and Proteins - metabolism; crystallography; Cyanobacteria - chemistry; Cyanobacteria - genetics; Cyanobacteria - physiology; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; Models, Molecular; nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR); Photoperiod; Protein Conformation; Protein Kinases - chemistry; Protein Kinases - genetics; Protein Kinases - metabolism; Signal Transduction; Thematic Minireviews; bacterial signal transduction; crystallography; bacterial protein kinase; ATPases associated with diverse cellular activities (AAA); nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR); circadian rhythm
• ISSN: 0021-9258; 1083-351X
• DOI: 10.1074/jbc.TM117.001433

Circadian rhythms enable cells and organisms to coordinate their physiology with the cyclic environmental changes that come as a result of Earth's light/dark cycles. Cyanobacteria make use of a post-translational oscillator to maintain circadian rhythms, and this elegant system has become an important model for circadian timekeeping mechanisms. Composed of three proteins, the KaiABC system undergoes an oscillatory biochemical cycle that provides timing cues to achieve a 24-h molecular clock. Together with the input/output proteins SasA, CikA, and RpaA, these six gene products account for the timekeeping, entrainment, and output signaling functions in cyanobacterial circadian rhythms. This Minireview summarizes the current structural, functional and mechanistic insights into the cyanobacterial circadian clock.