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The Journal of Neuroscience, September 1, 2001, 21(17):6644-6656
Modeling Circadian Oscillations with Interlocking Positive and
Negative Feedback Loops
Paul
Smolen,
Douglas A.
Baxter, and
John H.
Byrne
Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, W. M. Keck Center for the
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, The University of Texas-Houston
Medical School, Houston, Texas
Both positive and negative feedback loops of transcriptional
regulation have been proposed to be important for the generation of
circadian rhythms. To test the sufficiency of the proposed mechanisms,
two differential equation-based models were constructed to describe the
Neurospora crassa and Drosophila melanogaster circadian oscillators. In the model of the Neurospora
oscillator, FRQ suppresses frq transcription by binding to a
complex of the transcriptional activators WC-1 and WC-2, thus yielding
negative feedback. FRQ also activates synthesis of WC-1, which in turn activates frq transcription, yielding positive feedback. In
the model of the Drosophila oscillator, PER and TIM are
represented by a "lumped" variable, "PER." PER suppresses its
own transcription by binding to the transcriptional regulator dCLOCK,
thus yielding negative feedback. PER also binds to dCLOCK to de-repress
dclock, and dCLOCK in turn activates per
transcription, yielding positive feedback. Both models displayed
circadian oscillations that were robust to parameter variations and to
noise and that entrained to simulated light/dark cycles. Circadian
oscillations were only obtained if time delays were included to
represent processes not modeled in detail (e.g., transcription and
translation). In both models, oscillations were preserved when positive
feedback was removed.
Key words:
circadian; Drosophila; Neurospora; PER; CLOCK; FRQ; positive feedback; simulation
Copyright © 2001 Society for Neuroscience 0270-6474/01/21176644-13$05.00/0
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