Circadian Rhythms of Neurospora

Abstract

The phenomena of circadian rhythms, sometimes called biological clocks, may seem out of place for a book devoted to development. The reasons are clear: biological clocks are often characterized in adult organisms and not in developing systems; and biological clocks show periodic functions whereas developmental systems are basically aperiodic. Both types of phenomena are temporal, however. This chapter, although basically devoted to the facts and strategies in the clock field, will also attempt to illustrate the connection between clocks and development. It will point out how an understanding of the mechanism of the clock and/or its input and output pathways, can be useful to the understanding of developmental events, cell cycle control, and responses to various environmental stimuli. It will also attempt to show how genetic and biochemical techniques, and combinations thereof, have been employed to probe the mechanism that is responsible for a given phenotype.