Prof. Dr. Maria Mittag
The response of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to environmental daily temperature cycles: Functional analysis of components of its signaling pathway

Abstract
A biological clock controls several processes in the flagellate green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, including phototaxis and chemotaxis. This endogenous circadian clock can be synchronized by light-dark as well as by temperature cycles. In the past years, several components were shown to be involved in the oscillatory machinery of the circadian clock of C. reinhardtii (Schmidt et al., 2006, Plant Cell 18, 1908-1930; Iliev et al., 2006, Plant Physiol. 142, 797-806; Matsuo et al., 2008, Genes Dev. 22, 918-930). Recently, we could demonstrate that certain clock-relevant components are able to integrate temperature information (Voytsekh et al al., 2008, Plant Physiol. 147, 2179-2193 and unpublished data). The project aims to characterize the molecular mechanism of temperature sensing in C. reinhardtii. This green alga is well suited for investigations at the molecular level, since its entire genome has been sequenced and many molecular genetics methods including e.g., transformation, reporter genes as well as proteome analysis tools have been established for this organism (Merchant et al., 2007, Science 318, 245-250).

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