Figure 1

Model of a 5-gene circadian oscillator. The components of the first of the primary oscillators are illustrated in the top half of the figure. C1, C2 – the genes coding for R1 and R2; R1, R2, the mRNAs encoding the proteins P1 and P2; P1, P2, the protein products, which undergo association to dimers D1 and D2, respectively. D1 stimulates the transcription of C2 by binding to its regulatory region, and D2 inhibits the transcription of C1 by binding its regulatory region. The decays of mRNAs and proteins are not shown. The overall model is shown in the lower half of the figure. It comprises two independent, ultradian, primary oscillators (genes 1+2 and 3+4, respectively), in which the homodimeric protein product of gene 1 positively regulates the transcription of gene 2, and a homodimer of protein 2 inhibits transcription of gene 1. Genes 3 and 4 are similarly related. The two primary oscillators differ slightly in their respective periods. The protein products of genes 1 and 3 form heterodimers that regulate the transcription of the fifth gene (the forced oscillator). In the present model, and using the parameters given (Figure 2 legend), the periods of the primary oscillators are around 3 hours, while the period of the fifth gene in the absence of light-dark coupling is just over 26 hours.