Identification of a novel vertebrate circadian clock-regulated gene encoding the protein nocturnin. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 1996 Dec 10;93(25):14884-8
Date
12/10/1996Pubmed ID
8962150Pubmed Central ID
PMC26231DOI
10.1073/pnas.93.25.14884Scopus ID
2-s2.0-0029856174 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 123 CitationsAbstract
Photoreceptors of the Xenopus laevis retina are the site of a circadian clock. As part of a differential display screen for rhythmic gene products in this system, we have identified a photoreceptor-specific mRNA expressed in peak abundance at night. cDNA cloning revealed an open reading frame encoding a putative 388 amino acid protein that we have named "nocturnin" (for night-factor). This protein has strong sequence similarity to the C-terminal domain of the yeast transcription factor, CCR4, as well as a leucine zipper-like dimerization motif. Nocturnin mRNA levels exhibit a high amplitude circadian rhythm and nuclear run-on analysis indicates that it is controlled by the retinal circadian clock at the level of transcription. Our observations suggest that nocturnin may function through protein-protein interaction either as a component of the circadian clock or as a downstream effector of clock function.
Author List
Green CB, Besharse JCMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Amino Acid SequenceAnimals
Circadian Rhythm
Cloning, Molecular
Genes
Molecular Sequence Data
Nuclear Proteins
Proteins
Sequence Alignment
Transcription Factors
Vertebrates
Xenopus
