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Dr. Bell-Pedersen
http://www.bio.tamu.edu/FACMENU/FACULTY/GoldenS.htm Organisms use circadian clocks to control daily biochemical, physiological, and behavioral rhythms. We are using molecular, genetic, and biochemical tools in the model organism Neurospora crassa to determine the mechanisms by which molecular oscillators control rhythmicity. We find that circadian oscillators harness established signaling cascades, including MAPK pathways, to control rhythms in downstream transcription factors and their targets. Furthermore, we found that the circadian system is more complex than a single molecular oscillator regulating all overt rhythmicity. Critical questions that are now being addressed include; What are the roles of multiple circadian oscillators in cells, and how do components of these oscillators communicate to coordinately control rhythmicity? |
