| First Author | Sun ZS | Year | 1997 |
| Journal | Cell | Volume | 90 |
| Issue | 6 | Pages | 1003-11 |
| PubMed ID | 9323128 | Mgi Jnum | J:43060 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:1097028 | Doi | 10.1016/s0092-8674(00)80366-9 |
| Citation | Sun ZS, et al. (1997) RIGUI, a putative mammalian ortholog of the Drosophila period gene. Cell 90(6):1003-11 |
| abstractText | The molecular components of mammalian circadian clocks are elusive. We have isolated a human gene termed RIGUI that encodes a bHLH/PAS protein 44% homologous to Drosophila period. The highly conserved mouse homolog (m-rigui) is expressed in a circadian pattern in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), the master regulator of circadian clocks in mammals. Circadian expression in the SCN continues in constant darkness, and a shift in the light/dark cycle evokes a proportional shift of m-rigui expression in the SCN. m-rigui transcripts also appear in a periodic pattern in Purkinje neurons, pars tuberalis, and retina, but with a timing of oscillation different from that seen in the SCN. Sequence homology and circadian patterns of expression suggest that RIGUI is a mammalian ortholog of the Drosophila period gene, raising the possibility that a regulator of circadian clocks is conserved. |
