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Daily rhythms are a constant part of life. This special Focus issue explores the molecular mechanisms that underlie the generation of circadian dynamics.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Although oxidative stress has long been considered to be a major factor contributing to telomere shortening, recent work has established that oxidative stress and DNA damage are linked to telomere lengthening. Now, Opresko and colleagues resolve this apparent discrepancy by showing that differential modulation of telomerase activity depends on the origin of a common oxidative guanine lesion.
The ribosome-assembly factor Mrt4 prevents untimely recruitment of the RNA-export receptor Mex67–Mtr2 to the nascent 60S ribosomal subunit, thereby ensuring appropriately timed nuclear export.
Cryo-EM analyses of yeast TRiC (CCT) reveal conformational changes induced by ATP binding and a staggered mode of nucleotide binding to the different subunits.
Opposing effects of 8-oxodGTP on telomerase activity – promoting elongation by destabilizing G4 structures or inhibiting elongation by acting as a chain terminator – explain the differential sensitivity of cells with short telomeres to oxidative stress.
The RNA-binding protein CPEB1 drives post-transcriptional changes in the host transcriptome and poly(A)-tail lengthening of viral RNAs, processes essential for productive HCMV infection.
spFRET microscopy analysis reveals how FACT reversibly uncoils DNA from nucleosomes during remodeling, thus modulating DNA accessibility in vitro and in vivo.
Comparative analysis of RNA-seq and ribosome profiling data show that a major fraction of exon-skipping events in transcripts with medium-to-high abundance are engaged by ribosomes and therefore are likely to be translated.
Applying SHAPE-seq to analyze cotranscriptional folding of the B. cereus crcB fluoride riboswitch at nucleotide resolution shows that the folding pathway undergoes a ligand-dependent bifurcation that influences terminator formation via coordinated structural transitions.
