Neue Einsichten in die Funktionsweise der inneren Uhr

Most organisms exhibit daily rhythms in physiology and behaviour. In humans, the brain’s master clock is directly synchronized to the environmental light-dark cycle, while peripheral body clocks are set by master clock signals and the cell’s metabolic state. Structural analyses of the mammalian clock protein Cryptochrome (CRY) and its complex with the clock protein Period (PER) shows, how the inner clock could sense the cell’s metabolic state via CRY and its zinc-dependent interaction with PER.