2. Academic Validation
  3. The after-hours mutant reveals a role for Fbxl3 in determining mammalian circadian period

The after-hours mutant reveals a role for Fbxl3 in determining mammalian circadian period

  • Science. 2007 May 11;316(5826):897-900. doi: 10.1126/science.1141138.
Sofia I H Godinho 1,  Elizabeth S Maywood,  Linda Shaw,  Valter Tucci,  Alun R Barnard,  Luca Busino,  Michele Pagano,  Rachel Kendall,  Mohamed M Quwailid,  M Rosario Romero,  John O'neill,  Johanna E Chesham,  Debra Brooker,  Zuzanna Lalanne,  Michael H Hastings,  Patrick M Nolan
Affiliations

Affiliation

  • 1 Medical Research Council (MRC) Mammalian Genetics Unit, Harwell, Oxfordshire OX11 0RD, UK.
PMID: 17463252 DOI: 10.1126/science.1141138
Abstract

By screening N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea-mutagenized Animals for alterations in rhythms of wheel-running activity, we identified a mouse mutation, after hours (Afh). The mutation, a Cys(358)Ser substitution in Fbxl3, an F-box protein with leucine-rich repeats, results in long free-running rhythms of about 27 hours in homozygotes. Circadian transcriptional and translational oscillations are attenuated in Afh mice. The Afh allele significantly affected Per2 expression and delayed the rate of Cry protein degradation in Per2::Luciferase tissue slices. Our in vivo and in vitro studies reveal a central role for Fbxl3 in mammalian circadian timekeeping.

Figures