Previous comprehensive genetic studies utilized microarray analysis and had only measured about 10% of the mRNAs in the organism showing circadian oscillations. Microarray studies look at the total abundance of mRNA, including both synthesis and degradation. McClung and Michael's measurements focus specifically on the rate of mRNA synthesis.

Questions still remain about the discrepancy between the number of genes whose mRNA synthesis is clock regulated and the number whose mRNA abundance exhibits circadian oscillations.

"The answer might lie with the stability of mRNA; if it's too stable, then the rhythms disappear because the vast majority of the mRNA persists, leading to a pattern of apparent continuous accumulation," says McClung. "It's also possible that we picked up orphan circadian elements that aren't actually regulating anything."

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Contact: Sue Knapp
Sue.Knapp@dartmouth.edu
603-646-3661
Dartmouth College
1-Jul-2003

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