9319928 Roberts Living cells regularly cycle through periods of mitotic activity, and recent work has suggested that this is related to the rhythmic association between members of two protein families that control the division process. Interestingly, members of these protein families have been found in a tissue whose cells no longer divide: the brain. In this proposal Dr. Michael Roberts will attempt to determine the function of these proteins in nervous tissue. Dr. Roberts will test the hypothesis that circadian rhythms (changes in physiological functions that have a cycle with approximately a 24 hour period) are generated by periodic interactions between the same proteins that otherwise regulate cell division. The experiments will be conducted on a circadian pacemaker in the marine mollusk, Bulla. In this model system, correlated physiological and biochemical information can be obtained and the results should allow us to understand the control of endogenous rhythms in a wide range of living organisms.
