Chapter category: Circadian Rhythms
The Mechanism of the Gonyaulax (Lingulodinium) Circadian Clock: Interpreting the Inputs
Chapter authors:
Nasha Nassoury, David Morse and J. Woodland Hastings
The several bioluminescence rhythms have been widely used to characterize the response to various stimuli of the Gonyaulax circadian clock. In particular, Gonyaulax responds to changes in light intensity with a phase response curve (PRC). The magnitude and sign of the phase shifts depend on the light intensity and the spectral quality of the light in addition to the time at which the cells are exposed. Different drugs can affect the timing of the cells by themselves, and can act to modulate the response of the clock to light. One important class of drugs, the protein synthesis inhibitors, produces PRCs superficially similar to those induced by light, with the difficulty in removing the drug after the pulses an important difference between the two treatments. The Gonyaulax clock is temperature compensated with a Q10 of 0.85.
