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A Model for the Circadian Rhythm of Cyanobacteria that Maintains Oscillation without Gene Expression

Gen Kurosawa ^* , Kazuyuki Aihara   and Yoh Iwasa ^*

^* Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8581, Japan; and Aihara Complexity Modelling Project, ERATO, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Komaba Open Laboratory, and Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8505, Japan

Correspondence: Address reprint requests to Gen Kurosawa, Aihara Complexity Modelling Project, ERATO, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Komaba Open Laboratory, The University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8505, Japan. Tel.: 81-3-5452-5722; Fax: 81-3-5452-5723; E-mail: kurosawa{at}aihara.jst.go.jp.

An intriguing property of the cyanobacterial circadian clock is that endogenous rhythm persists when protein abundances are kept constant either in the presence of translation and transcription inhibitors or in the constant dark condition. Here we propose a regulatory mechanism of KaiC phosphorylation for the generation of circadian oscillations in cyanobacteria. In the model, clock proteins KaiA and KaiB are assumed to have multiple states, regulating the KaiC phosphorylation process. The model can explain 1), the sustained oscillation of gene expression and protein abundance when the expression of the kaiBC gene is regulated by KaiC protein, and 2), the sustained oscillation of phosphorylated KaiC when transcription and translation processes are inhibited and total protein abundance is fixed. Results of this work suggest that KaiA and KaiB strengthen the nonlinearity of KaiC phosphorylation, thereby promoting the circadian rhythm in cyanobacteria.