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Till Roenneberg

Publications and source records attributed to Till Roenneberg.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

The network of time: understanding the molecular circadian system.

The circadian clock provides a temporal structure that modulates biological functions from the level of gene expression to performance and behaviour. Pioneering work on the fruitfly Drosophila has provided a basis for understanding how the temporal sequence of daily events is controlled in mammals. New insights have come from work on mammals, specifically from studying the daily activity profiles of clock mutant mice; from more detailed recordings of clock gene expression under different experimental conditions and in different tissues; and from the discovery and analysis of a growing number of additional clock genes. These new results are moving the model paradigm away from a simple negative feedback loop to a molecular network. Understanding the coupling and interactions of this network will help us to understand the evolution of the circadian system, advance medical diagnosis and treatment, improve the health of shift workers and frequent travellers, and will generally enable the treatment of clock-related pathologies.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

The day within.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Combining theoretical and experimental approaches to understand the circadian clock.

This review is intended as a summary of our work carried out as part of the German Research Association (DFG) Center Program on Circadian Rhythms. Over the last six years, our approach to understanding circadian systems combined theoretical and experimental tools, and Gonyaulax and Neurospora have proven ideal for these efforts. Both of these model organisms demonstrate that even simple circadian systems can have multiple light input pathways and more than one rhythm generator. They have both been used to elaborate basic circadian features in conjunction with formal models. The models introduce the "zeitnehmer," i.e., a clock-regulated input pathway, to the conceptual framework of circadian systems, and proposes networks of individual feedbacks as the basis for circadian rhythmicity.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Life between clocks: daily temporal patterns of human chronotypes.

Human behavior shows large interindividual variation in temporal organization. Extreme "larks" wake up when extreme "owls" fall asleep. These chronotypes are attributed to differences in the circadian clock, and in animals, the genetic basis of similar phenotypic differences is well established. To better understand the genetic basis of temporal organization in humans, the authors developed a questionnaire to document individual sleep times, self-reported light exposure, and self-assessed chronotype, considering work and free days separately. This report summarizes the results of 500 questionnaires completed in a pilot study individual sleep times show large differences between work and free days, except for extreme early types. During the workweek, late chronotypes accumulate considerable sleep debt, for which they compensate on free days by lengthening their sleep by several hours. For all chronotypes, the amount of time spent outdoors in broad daylight significantly affects the timing of sleep: Increased self-reported light exposure advances sleep. The timing of self-selected sleep is multifactorial, including genetic disposition, sleep debt accumulated on workdays, and light exposure. Thus, accurate assessment of genetic chronotypes has to incorporate all of these parameters. The dependence of human chronotype on light, that is, on the amplitude of the light:dark signal, follows the known characteristics of circadian systems in all other experimental organisms. Our results predict that the timing of sleep has changed during industrialization and that a majority of humans are sleep deprived during the workweek. The implications are far ranging concerning learning, memory, vigilance, performance, and quality of life.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

The art of entrainment.

The circadian system actively synchronizes the temporal sequence of biological functions with the environment. The oscillatory behavior of the system ensures that entrainment is not passive or driven and therefore allows for great plasticity and adaptive potential. With the tools at hand, we now can concentrate on the most important circadian question: How is the complex task of entrainment achieved by anatomical, cellular, and molecular components? Understanding entrainment is equal to understanding the circadian system. The results of this basic research will help us to understand temporal ecology and will allow us to improve conditions for humans in industrialized societies.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Light reception and circadian behavior in 'blind' and 'clock-less' mutants of Neurospora crassa.

The filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa is a model organism for the genetic dissection of blue light photoreception and circadian rhythms. WHITE COLLAR-1 (WC-1) and WC-2 are considered necessary for all light responses, while FREQUENCY (FRQ) is required for light-regulated asexual development (conidia formation); without any of the three, self-sustained (circadian) rhythmicity in constant conditions fails. Here we show that light-regulated and self-sustained development occur in the individual or mutant white collar strains. These strains resemble wild type in their organization of the daily bout of light-regulated conidiation. Molecular profiles of light- induced genes indicate that the individual white collar-1 and white collar-2 mutants utilize distinct pathways, despite their similar appearance in all aspects. Titration of fluence rate also demonstrates different light sensitivities between the two strains. The data require the existence of an as-yet-unidentified photoreceptor. Furthermore, the extant circadian clock machinery in these mutant strains supports the notion that the circadian system in Neurospora involves components outside the WC-FRQ loop.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed2002

"What watch?...such much!" Complexity and evolution of circadian clocks.

This review uses three examples to summarise our knowledge about the complexity and the evolution of circadian systems. The first example describes the ecology of unicellular algae, which use their circadian system to optimise the daily exploitation of resources that are spatially separated. The second example looks at the role of clocks in tissues and cells within a complex organism, and the third speculates on how the circadian system may have evolved.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Light reception: discovering the clock-eye in mammals.

Light is the most reliable environmental signal for adjusting biological clocks to the 24-hour day. Mammals receive this signal exclusively through the eyes, but not just via rods and cones. New evidence has been uncovered for a novel photoreceptor that may be responsible for more than just adjusting the clock.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

The flavo-enzyme xanthine oxidase is under circadian control in the marine alga Gonyaulax.

The activity of xanthine oxidoreductases (xanthine oxidase, XO, EC 1.2.3.2 and xanthine dehydrogenase, XDH, EC 1.1.1.204) in partially purified extracts of Gonyaulax polyedra was measured over 24 h both in a light:dark cycle and in constant light. This is the first demonstration of xanthine oxidoreductase in a unicellular alga. The activity of the O2-dependent form (XO) was found to be 15 times higher in light than in darkness. The same time-of-day specific differences persisted in constant light, demonstrating a control of XO by the circadian clock. In contrast, the activity of the NAD-dependent form (XDH) is not under circadian control. Because pharmacological inhibition of XO also blocks the effect of blue light on the Gonyaulax circadian clock, the possible relationship between XO and light reception in this unicellular alga will be discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Life before the clock: modeling circadian evolution.

A feedback loop that functions via transcription and translation is thought to be the mechanistic core of circadian rhythmicity. Numerous modeling efforts incorporate the identified components and their modifications to recreate the circadian clock in computer simulations. Several issues remain problematic, including the lack of precise quantitative kinetics and the likely existence of additional, as-yet-undiscovered components. Even without these complications, models and flow charts of the circadian system have reached high complexity. They attempt to reconcile all observations without violating current views and concepts. In this article, the authors consider the mechanisms that may have preceded the circadian system in evolution. Given that cellular metabolism and biochemistry were presumably already interconnected in cascading feedback reactions prior to the appendage of the transcription/translation feedback loop, a coordinated response to exogenous changes would be advantageous over unsystematic responses. The authors hypothesize that those mechanisms that allowed synchronization in spite of metabolic complexity form the basis for the evolution of circadian properties and are as fundamental to the circadian system as the transcriptional/translational feedback loop.

Animals↗