Systems Biology Used to Elucidate Heart Of Biological Clock's Genetic Networks —Yamanouchi and RIKEN Research Results

摘要

On January 19, 2005, the Molecular Medicine Laboratories of Yamanouchi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and RIKEN (the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research) Kobe Institute's Center for Developmental Biology headed by Dr. Masatoshi Takeichi, succeeded in elucidating the heart of the genetic network of biological clock. Their findings will be published in the online edition of Nature Genetics on January 23. The biological clock is a system that creates circadian (biological) rhythms of the body. Studies conducted to date have shown that 16 genes (clock and clock-related genes) function as parts of the biological clock, but not how these 16 genes compose the biological clock. Researchers from Yamanouchi and RIKEN identified the heart of the biological clock's genetic networks by elucidating the entire picture of the network composed of the 16 genes. The group also clarified the principles by which the 16 genes work at specific time in the morning, daytime and night.