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The molecular clock not only controls the rhythmic expression of genes with physiological roles, but also regulates the creation of ribosomes — molecular machines that translate messenger RNA into protein.
Frédéric Gachon at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland and his colleagues found that mRNAs that encode components of the translation machinery — including some involved in making ribosomes — are rhythmically expressed in the livers of mice. Production of these RNAs peaks in the nocturnal animals shortly before nightfall, when the energy needed for protein synthesis is most likely to be available.
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Protein production on the clock. Nature 494, 9 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/494009e
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/494009e
