MOLECULAR BIOLOGICAL APPROACH TO THE CIRCADIAN CLOCK MECHANISM

Many circadian phenomena have been described in a diverse range of species, from single cellular organisms to higher species of plants and animals. From several lines of evidence from Drosophila and Neurospora, the oscillation of the circadian clock seems to involve cycling gene expression. Although a great deal of information concerning the anatomy, neurophysiology and neurochemistry of circadian pacemakers has been obtained over the last decade, molecular and cellular approaches to this problem have only just begun. I will summarize recent progress of the molecular biological approach to the circadian clock mechanism. Finally, the importance of transcription factors to envision the common mechanism of circadian clock in the diverged species will be discussed considering with the existence of a hypothetical 'Time Box'.