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Structural Aspects of the Cyanobacterial KaiABC Circadian Clock

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Bacterial Circadian Programs

Abstract

The KaiABC circadian clock in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus can be reconstituted in vitro from three proteins in the presence of ATP. This oscillator displays the pertinent features of circadian rhythms including a self-sustained 24-h period and temperature compensation. At every phase of the cycle there is a mixture of types of Kai complexes and the proportions of the various types are oscillating. The KaiC protein is an auto-kinase and auto-phosphatase whose phosphorylation levels oscillate over the daily period whereby KaiA and KaiB interact with KaiC to increase and decrease its phosphorylation, respectively. This chapter provides an overview of the three-dimensional (3D) structural characterization of Kai proteins and the understanding of the KaiA–KaiC interaction gained by NMR and 3D electron microscopy (EM). Despite impressive advances in the structural realm, many open questions remain regarding the control of KaiC phosphorylation by KaiA and KaiB and conformational changes accompanying the transition between the hypo- and hyper-phosphorylated states of KaiC.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA

    Martin Egli

  2. Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA

    Phoebe L. Stewart

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  1. Martin Egli
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  2. Phoebe L. Stewart
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of St. Thomas, 2115 Summit Avenue, St. Paul, MN, 55105, USA

    Jayna L. Ditty

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Box 1634, Station B, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA

    Shannon R. Mackey

  3. Department of Biology, St. Ambrose University, 518 W. Locust St., Davenport, IA, 52803, USA

    Carl H. Johnson

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© 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Egli, M., Stewart, P.L. (2009). Structural Aspects of the Cyanobacterial KaiABC Circadian Clock. In: Ditty, J.L., Mackey, S.R., Johnson, C.H. (eds) Bacterial Circadian Programs. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-88431-6_7

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