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Science 23 June 2006:
Vol. 312. no. 5781, p. 1712
DOI: 10.1126/science.312.5781.1712i
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Figure 1 Circadian clocks can be reset to a new phase by a brief exposure to light, but the molecular details of this resetting are not clear. In Drosophila, a light-sensitive protein cryptochrome undergoes a conformational change in response to light and binds to a clock component, the protein TIMELESS (TIM). This interaction then triggers TIM degradation and effectively resetting the clock. By screening mutant flies that show reduced sensitivity to this light-induced resetting, Koh et al. (p. 1809) identify a gene, termed jetlag, that is necessary for degradation of TIM after the light pulse. JETLAG exists in a complex with TIM and increases its ubiquitination, a tag that marks the protein for degradation. Thus, JETLAG is an F-box protein that targets TIM for ubiquitination and consequent rapid degradation in response to light.

CREDIT: KOH ET AL.




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