Resonating Circadian Clocks Enhance Fitness in Cyanobacteria

In some organisms longevity, growth, and developmental rate are improved when they are maintained on a light/dark cycle, the period of which ``resonates'' optimally with the period of the endogenous circadian clock. However, to our knowledge no studies have demonstrated that reproductive f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 1998-07, Vol.95 (15), p.8660-8664
Main Authors: Ouyang, Yan, Andersson, Carol R., Kondo, Takao, Golden, Susan S., Johnson, Carl Hirschie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacteria
Batch cell culture techniques
Biological Sciences
Biology
Brackish
Charge coupled devices
Circadian Rhythm
Cyanobacteria
Cyanobacteria - physiology
Cyanophyta
Darkness
Ecological competition
Evolution
Freshwater
Genetic mutation
Light
Longevity
Marine
Phenotypes
Plants
Reproduction
Soft selection
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Summary:In some organisms longevity, growth, and developmental rate are improved when they are maintained on a light/dark cycle, the period of which ``resonates'' optimally with the period of the endogenous circadian clock. However, to our knowledge no studies have demonstrated that reproductive fitness per se is improved by resonance between the endogenous clock and the environmental cycle. We tested the adaptive significance of circadian programming by measuring the relative fitness under competition between various strains of cyanobacteria expressing different circadian periods. Strains that had a circadian period similar to that of the light/dark cycle were favored under competition in a manner that indicates the action of soft selection.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.95.15.8660