Molecular mechanism of the Neurospora circadian oscillator

Abstract

Circadian clocks are the internal time-keeping mechanisms for organisms to synchronize their cellular and physiological processes to the daily light/dark cycles. The molecular mechanisms underlying circadian clocks are remarkably similar in eukaryotes. Neurospora crassa, a filamentous fungus, is one of the best understood model organisms for circadian research. In recent years, accumulating data have revealed complex regulation in the Neurospora circadian clock at transcriptional, posttranscriptional, post-translational and epigenetic levels. Here we review the recent progress towards our understanding of the molecular mechanism of the Neurospora circadian oscillator. These advances have provided novel insights and furthered our understanding of the mechanism of eukaryotic circadian clocks. © 2010 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.