June 13, 2025

[Press Release] Scientists discover the ‘ticking’ mechanism driving nature’s simplest circadian clock - New research reveals that circadian clock protein KaiC regulates phosphorylation to keep time in cyanobacteria

Visualization of phosphorylation in KaiC

  • Title: Visualization of phosphorylation in KaiC
  • Credit:Yoshihiko Furuike
  • Restriction:News organizations may use or redistribute this image, with proper attribution, as part of news coverage of this paper only.
  • Release Summary

     Aichi, Japan—Researchers from the Institute for Molecular Science (IMS)/SOKENDAI and Kyushu University have uncovered the molecular mechanism that drives the "ticking" of the circadian clock in cyanobacteria. Their study reveals how a clock protein called KaiC controls chemical reactions with remarkable precision, acting like the hand of a clock that waits, then moves at just the right moment. The findings were published in PNAS Nexus on April 28, 2025.

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    Information of the paper

    • Journal: PNAS Nexus
    • Title: "The priming phosphorylation of KaiC is activated by the release of its autokinase autoinhibition"
    • Authors: Yoshihiko Furuike, Yasuhiro Onoue, Shinji Saito, Toshifumi Mori, Shuji Akiyama
    • DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgaf136

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