Redox and metabolic oscillations in the clockwork

Abstract

Daily (circadian) clocks have evolved to coordinate behaviour and physiology around the 24-h day. Most models of the eukaryotic circadian oscillator have focused principally on transcription/translation feedback loop (TTFL) mechanisms, with accessory cytosolic loops that connect them to cellular physiology. Recent work, however, questions the absolute necessity of transcription-based oscillators for circadian rhythmicity. The recent discovery of reduction-oxidation cycles of peroxiredoxin proteins, which persist even in the absence of transcription, have prompted a reappraisal of current clock models in disparate organisms. A novel mechanism based on metabolic cycles may underlie circadian transcriptional and cytosolic rhythms, making it difficult to know where one oscillation ends and the other begins.