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Molecular and Cellular Biology, April 2001, p. 2619-2628, Vol. 21, No. 8
0270-7306/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/MCB.21.8.2619-2628.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Circadian Clock-Specific Roles for the Light Response Protein WHITE COLLAR-2

Michael A. Collett, Jay C. Dunlap,* and Jennifer J. Loros*

Departments of Genetics and Biochemistry, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755

Received 24 July 2000/Returned for modification 15 September 2000/Accepted 22 January 2001

To understand the role of white collar-2 in the Neurospora circadian clock, we examined alleles of wc-2 thought to encode partially functional proteins. We found that wc-2 allele ER24 contained a conservative mutation in the zinc finger. This mutation results in reduced levels of circadian rhythm-critical clock gene products, frq mRNA and FRQ protein, and in a lengthened period of the circadian clock. In addition, this mutation altered a second canonical property of the clock, temperature compensation: as temperature increased, period length decreased substantially. This temperature compensation defect correlated with a temperature-dependent increase in overall FRQ protein levels, with the relative increase being greater in wc-2 (ER24) than in wild type, while overall frq mRNA levels were largely unaltered by temperature. We suggest that this temperature-dependent increase in FRQ levels partially rescues the lowered levels of FRQ resulting from the wc-2 (ER24) defect, yielding a shorter period at higher temperatures. Thus, normal activity of the essential clock component WC-2, a positive regulator of frq, is critical for establishing period length and temperature compensation in this circadian system.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Departments of Genetics and Biochemistry, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, NH 03755. Phone for Jennifer J. Loros: (603) 650-1154. Fax: (603) 650-1128. E-mail: jennifer.loros{at}dartmouth.edu. Phone for Jay C. Dunlap: (603) 650-1108. Fax: (603) 650-1128. E-mail: jay.c.dunlap{at}dartmouth.edu.

Molecular and Cellular Biology, April 2001, p. 2619-2628, Vol. 21, No. 8
0270-7306/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/MCB.21.8.2619-2628.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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