Focus on Cycles and Rhythms

Content

• Keeping time

  Daily rhythms are a constant part of life. This special Focus issue explores the molecular mechanisms that underlie the generation of circadian dynamics.

  Editorial6 Dec 2016 Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
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  Elements of biological oscillations in time and space

  This Perspective focuses on five distinct regulatory elements that have been recognized as being critical for generating and modulating oscillatory dynamics in time and space, in both natural and synthetic biological networks.

  • Yangxiaolu Cao
  • Allison Lopatkin
  • Lingchong You

  Perspective6 Dec 2016 Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
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  The molecular basis of metabolic cycles and their relationship to circadian rhythms

  This review explores the molecular basis of metabolic and gene-expression oscillations in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and describes how they relate to other biological time-keeping mechanisms, such as circadian rhythms.

  • Jane Mellor

  Review Article6 Dec 2016 Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
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  Genetic and epigenomic mechanisms of mammalian circadian transcription

  In this Review, the authors consider the functions of key clock transcription factors and the epigenetic regulatory mechanisms that direct circadian gene expression in mammalian cells.

  • Romeo Papazyan
  • Yuxiang Zhang
  • Mitchell A Lazar

  Review Article6 Dec 2016 Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
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  The intricate dance of post-translational modifications in the rhythm of life

  Clock proteins are controlled by multiple post-translational modifications during the circadian cycle. In this Review, the authors examine how post-translational modifications influence the stability, interactions and activity of mammalian clock proteins and how they contribute to proper clock function or are altered in circadian disorders.

  • Arisa Hirano
  • Ying-Hui Fu
  • Louis J Ptáček

  Review Article6 Dec 2016 Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
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  Molecular mechanisms at the core of the plant circadian oscillator

  This Review examines the molecular mechanisms underlying the plant circadian clock, highlighting the functions of transcriptional circuits and post-translational regulation in timing and describing how clock components integrate and respond to environmental signals.

  • Maria A Nohales
  • Steve A Kay

  Review Article6 Dec 2016 Nature Structural & Molecular Biology