Disruption of circadian rhythm is believed to play a critical role in cancer development. Cryptochrome 1 (CRY1) is a core component of the mammalian circadian clock and we have previously shown its deregulated expression in a subgroup of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Using real-time RT-PCR in a cohort of 76 CLL patients and 35 normal blood donors we now demonstrate that diff...

Disruption of circadian clock enhances the risk of metabolic syndrome, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. Circadian clocks rely on a highly regulated network of transcriptional and translational loops that drive clock-controlled gene expression. Among these transcribed clock genes are cryptochrome (CRY) family members, which comprise Cry1 and Cry2. While the metabolic effects of deletion of several ...

Circadian rhythms in mammals are coordinated by the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). SCN neurons define circadian time using transcriptional/posttranslational feedback loops (TTFL) in which expression of Cryptochrome (Cry) and Period (Per) genes is inhibited by their protein products. Loss of Cry1 and Cry2 stops the SCN clock, whereas individual deletions accelerate and decelerate it, respectivel...

Clock genes Cryptochrome (Cry1) and Cry2 are essential for expression of circadian rhythms in mice under constant darkness (DD). However, circadian rhythms in clock gene Per1 expression or clock protein PER2 are detected in the cultured suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of neonatal Cry1 and Cry2 double deficient (Cry1 (-/-)/Cry2 (-/-)) mice. A lack of circadian rhythms in adult Cry1 (-/-)/Cry2 (-/-...

Cryptochromes are widespread in higher plants but their physiological roles as blue-light photoreceptors have been examined in relatively few species. Screening in a phyA null mutant background has identified several blue-light response mutants in pea (Pisum sativum), including one that carries a substitution of a highly conserved glycine residue in the N-terminal photolyase-homologous domain o...

Although in Bacillus thuringiensis the cry genes coding for the insecticidal crystal proteins are plasmid-borne and are usually associated with mobile genetic elements, several aspects related to their genomic organization, diversification, and transmission remain to be elucidated. Plasmids of B. thuringiensis and other members of the Bacillus cereus group (n = 364) deposited in GenBank were sc...

In the present study, we investigated the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of the mouse core clock gene cryptochrome 1 (Cry1) at the post-transcriptional level, particularly its translational regulation. Interestingly, the 3'UTR of Cry1 mRNA decreased its mRNA levels but increased protein amounts. The 3'UTR is widely known to function as a cis-acting element of mRNA degradation. The 3'UTR also prov...

Wild-type or phyA, phyB, or hy4 mutant Arabidopsis seedlings lacking phytochrome A (phyA), phytochrome B (phyB), or cryptochrome 1 (cry1), respectively, and the double and triple mutants were used in combination with blue-light treatments given simultaneously with red or far-red light. We investigated the interaction between phytochromes and cry1 in the control of hypocotyl growth and cotyledon...

Cryptochromes are blue light photoreceptors involved in development and circadian clock regulation. They are found in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes as light sensors. Long Hypocotyl in Far-Red 1 (HFR1) has been identified as a positive regulator and a possible transcription factor in both blue and far-red light signaling in plants. However, the gene targets that are regulated by HFR1 in crypto...

The core circadian oscillator in mammals is composed of transcription/translation feedback loop, in which cryptochrome (CRY) proteins play critical roles as repressors of their own gene expression. Although post-translational modifications, such as phosphorylation of CRY1, are crucial for circadian rhythm, little is known about how phosphorylated CRY1 contributes to the molecular clockwork. To ...