Tiny crustacean helps scientists understand genes regulating circatidal rhythms | PHYS.org

Scientists at UMass Chan Medical School and the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole have shown that the four core clock genes responsible for maintaining circadian rhythms in animals—Per, Cry2, Bmal1 and Clk—also regulate circatidal behavior in the crustacean P. hawaiensis.

Their transcriptional wiring—how these genes interact with each other—however, differs, allowing these tiny shrimp-like creatures to maintain an internal 24-hour clock synchronized with light and dark cycles and a 12.4-hour clock synchronized with the tides.

Published in Current Biology, these findings suggest that the genetic system controlling circadian and circatidal rhythms is highly malleable. Better understanding of this system may help scientists develop interventions for diseases linked to circadian system disruption, such as jet lag and shift work, as well as better understand addiction biology, metabolism and obesity.

"The genes building these clocks seem to be quite plastic because they can generate rhythms of 12.4 hours to 24 hours, adjusting their mechanism to allow different periodicities," said Patrick Emery, Ph.D., professor of neurobiology at UMass Chan.