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| Clock Genes, Cell Autonomy and Circadian Organization in Mammals |
Joseph S Takahashi, PhD |
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Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Walter and Mary E. Glass Professor in the Life Sciences
Department of Neurobiology and Physiology
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois
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Circadian rhythms represent an evolutionarily conserved
adaptation to the environment that can be traced back to the
earliest life forms. In animals circadian behavior can be analyzed
as an integrated system - beginning with genes leading
ultimately to behavioral outputs. In the last decade, the
molecular mechanism of circadian clocks has been uncovered by the use of phenotype-driven (forward) genetic analysis in
a number of model systems. The discovery of ‘clock genes’
also led to the realization that the capacity for circadian gene
expression is widespread throughout the body in mammals.
The cellular autonomy of circadian clocks has raised a number
of questions concerning synchronization and coherence
of rhythms at the cellular level as well as circadian organization
at the systems level. I will discuss recent work that
addresses these issues and that examines a number of levels
of complexity within the circadian system.
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