{"title":"When Clocks Go Rogue: Circadian Rhythms and the Rise of Cancer.","authors":"Anestacia S Robinson, Samuel Bennett, Shogo Sato","doi":"10.1177/07487304251391270","DOIUrl":"10.1177/07487304251391270","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This review summarizes recent insights into the roles of the circadian clock in regulating cancer hallmarks, with a focus on its impact on the tumor microenvironment, and highlights the translational promise of circadian-informed strategies for cancer therapy. The circadian clock is a 24-hour biological timekeeping system that aligns physiological processes with cyclic environmental cues, such as light-dark cycles. Disruptions of circadian rhythms caused by lifestyle factors, including shift work, irregular sleep patterns, and jet lag, can lead to physiological dysregulation and increased risk of various diseases including cancer, positioning the circadian clock as both a critical driver of tumorigenesis and a potential target for chronotherapies. This review provides a comprehensive overview of circadian regulation in tumorigenesis across diverse cancer types by framing its role according to established cancer hallmarks, with particular emphasis on how the circadian system shapes immune cell dynamics within the tumor microenvironment to modulate tumor progression and immune surveillance. We further discuss recent preclinical and clinical advances in chronotherapy, highlighting how aligning therapeutic interventions with biological rhythms can enhance treatment efficacy, including responses to immunotherapy. By integrating mechanistic insights with translational applications, this review bridges circadian biology and oncology, providing a framework for future chronobiology-based cancer therapies.</p>","PeriodicalId":15056,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biological Rhythms","volume":" ","pages":"155-177"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145948822","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Allison Brager, Katie Edwards, Cassie Pattinson, Maria St Pierre-Paul, Antigone Grillakis, Janna Mantua, J Peyer, Thomas J Balkin, Vincent F Capaldi, Jessica Gill, Angela Yarnell
{"title":"Can a Single Night of Sleep Deprivation Unmask Human Sleep and Neurophysiobehavioral Impairments During the Post-Acute Phase of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury?","authors":"Allison Brager, Katie Edwards, Cassie Pattinson, Maria St Pierre-Paul, Antigone Grillakis, Janna Mantua, J Peyer, Thomas J Balkin, Vincent F Capaldi, Jessica Gill, Angela Yarnell","doi":"10.1177/07487304251385057","DOIUrl":"10.1177/07487304251385057","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to determine whether, and the extent to which, the challenge of a single night of total sleep deprivation (TSD) unmasks lingering brain health-related deficits in individuals who within the past 3 to 12 months had been diagnosed (yet medically cleared) with a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI+), and (b) to determine whether mTBI+ results in any neurophysiobehavioral deficits in the ability to recover from TSD. Seven previously concussed (mTBI+) adults (24.5 ± 5.3 years old) and six non-concussed control (mTBI-) adults underwent 24 h TSD preceded by 8 h baseline sleep (BSL) and followed by 8 h recovery sleep (REC). Study measures included the psychomotor vigilance test (PVT) across the entire study and polysomnography during nighttime sleep and daytime nap tests. mTBI+ (vs mTBI-) subjects exhibited more minor lapses on the PVT across all study phases. NREM (N3) sleep and total sleep time (TST) amounts were lower and wake after sleep onset (WASO) was higher in mTBI+ subjects (vs mTBI) at baseline and REC. mTBI+ (vs mTBI-) subjects showed no main effects in maintenance of wakefulness across TSD. Although there is some evidence that TSD may unmask latent performance deficits in mTBI+ subjects, a definitive conclusion was precluded by differences in baseline sleep in mTBI+ (vs mTBI-) subjects, suggesting that they may habitually carry a relatively elevated sleep debt (vs mTBI- controls). Reversal of TSD-induced neurophysiobehavioral deficits following recovery sleep were comparable for both groups, revealing no significant abnormalities in the responsivity of the sleep homeostat in the mTBI+ subjects.</p>","PeriodicalId":15056,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biological Rhythms","volume":" ","pages":"219-226"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145768086","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Olivia M Waldridge, Kaan I Eşkut, Jeramiah J Smith, Vincent M Cassone
{"title":"Phylogeny of Core Molecular Components of Metazoan Circadian Clocks.","authors":"Olivia M Waldridge, Kaan I Eşkut, Jeramiah J Smith, Vincent M Cassone","doi":"10.1177/07487304251390623","DOIUrl":"10.1177/07487304251390623","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The temporal organization of biological activities by circadian clocks is pivotal for the survival of organisms. Significant progress has been made in understanding the molecular foundations of animal circadian clocks through the characterization of key components, such as CLOCK, BMAL1/Cycle (CYC), Period (PER), Timeless, and Cryptochrome (CRY) in several model organisms. To determine the extent of conservation of these elements, we investigated the sequences of these genes and their paralogs across 46 animal species that encompass multiple phyla in the Metazoan kingdom to resolve the relative timing of duplication and loss events that have diversified core clock components. Using analyses of orthology and protein-protein binding predictions, we identified and characterized elements in diverse animal species. Based on these analyses, we propose a circadian molecular mechanism employed by the ancestor of all animals. We also identify derived losses and expansions of circadian elements in smaller animal clades and provide insight into the evolutionary pressures faced by their ancestors to change such an important piece of internal machinery. Our study is the first systematic analysis of the deep phylogeny of nearly all major clades of extant animals.</p>","PeriodicalId":15056,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biological Rhythms","volume":" ","pages":"227-242"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145843637","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Valentina Sica, Tomoki Sato, Ioannis Tsialtas, Sophia Hernandez, Siwei Chen, Pierre Baldi, Pura Muñoz-Cánoves, Paolo Sassone-Corsi, Kevin B Koronowski, Jacob G Smith
{"title":"The Liver Clock Tunes Transcriptional Rhythms in Skeletal Muscle to Regulate Mitochondrial Function.","authors":"Valentina Sica, Tomoki Sato, Ioannis Tsialtas, Sophia Hernandez, Siwei Chen, Pierre Baldi, Pura Muñoz-Cánoves, Paolo Sassone-Corsi, Kevin B Koronowski, Jacob G Smith","doi":"10.1177/07487304251386926","DOIUrl":"10.1177/07487304251386926","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Circadian clocks present throughout the brain and body coordinate diverse physiological processes to support daily homeostasis, yet the specific interorgan signaling axes involved are not well defined. We previously demonstrated that the skeletal muscle clock controls transcript oscillations of genes involved in fatty acid metabolism in the liver, yet the impact of the liver clock on the muscle remained unknown. Here, we use male hepatocyte-specific <i>Bmal1</i> KO mice (Bmal1<sup>hep-/-</sup>) to reveal that approximately one-third of transcript rhythms in skeletal muscle are influenced by the liver clock in vivo. Treatment of myotubes with serum harvested from Bmal1<sup>hep-/-</sup> mice inhibits expression of genes involved in metabolic pathways, including oxidative phosphorylation. Only small transcriptional changes were induced by liver clock-driven endocrine communication in vitro, leading us to surmise that the liver clock acts to fine-tune metabolic gene expression in muscle. Consistent with functional tuning, treatment of myotubes with serum collected from <i>Bmal1</i><sup>hep-/-</sup> mice during the dark phase lowers mitochondrial ATP production compared with serum from wild-type mice. Overall, our results reveal communication between the liver clock and skeletal muscle, uncovering a bidirectional endocrine communication pathway that may contribute to the metabolic phenotypes of circadian disruption.</p>","PeriodicalId":15056,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biological Rhythms","volume":" ","pages":"278-291"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12774450/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145900489","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jürgen Degenfellner, Eva S Schernhammer, Susanne Strohmaier
{"title":"Sex- and Ethnic Differences in the Cross-sectional Association Between Sleep Regularity and Obesity Among US Adults, NHANES 2011-2014.","authors":"Jürgen Degenfellner, Eva S Schernhammer, Susanne Strohmaier","doi":"10.1177/07487304251391267","DOIUrl":"10.1177/07487304251391267","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Obesity is a major public health concern, with disparities across racial and sex groups. While sleep duration has been extensively studied in relation to obesity, the role of sleep regularity remains less explored. In 2 nationally representative samples of US adults in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2011/2012 & 2013/2014, <i>n</i> = 7085), we investigated the cross-sectional association between a sleep regularity index (SRI) derived from accelerometer data and obesity measures. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), body roundness index (BRI), total fat mass, sagittal abdominal diameter (SAD), sagittal abdominal diameter to height ratio (SADHtR), fat mass index (FMI), lipid accumulation product (LAP), and visceral adiposity index (VAI) were derived from NHANES body measures. Multivariable-adjusted regression models were used to estimate multiplication factors (MF) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) comparing mean BMI across quintiles of SRI and to test for effect modification by sex and ethnicity. Higher SRI was associated with significantly lower BMI (MF SRI<sub>Q5vs.Q1</sub>: 0.92; 95% CI, 0.91-0.94; <i>P</i><sub>trend</sub> < 0.001), translating into 8% lower BMI among those with most versus least regular sleep. This association was more pronounced among women than men (MF SRI<sub>Q5vs.Q1</sub> women: 0.92; 95% CI, 0.90-0.95; men: 0.98; 95% CI, 0.96-1.00), with strongest effects in non-Hispanic White and other/multi-racial women (<i>P</i><sub>interaction</sub> < 0.001). Similar inverse associations were observed for all other obesity measures. In conclusion, sleep regularity, measured by the SRI, was inversely associated with BMI and any other obesity measures. The observed disparities suggest sleep regularity may contribute differentially to obesity risk by sex and race/ethnicity.</p>","PeriodicalId":15056,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biological Rhythms","volume":" ","pages":"205-218"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7618617/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145774620","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Julia E Stone, Dorothee Steven, Weiqi Cheng, Sean W Cain, Andrew J K Phillips
{"title":"Who Needs Bright Light and When? Mapping the Interactions of Lighting Environments and Individual Differences in Circadian Light Sensitivity.","authors":"Julia E Stone, Dorothee Steven, Weiqi Cheng, Sean W Cain, Andrew J K Phillips","doi":"10.1177/07487304251391268","DOIUrl":"10.1177/07487304251391268","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Light is the primary circadian time cue, but there are large interindividual differences in how sensitive the circadian system is to light. Currently, it is not well understood how individual differences in light sensitivity interact with real-world light environments to determine sleep and circadian timing. We used a validated computational model to simulate sleep and circadian timing (predicted dim light melatonin onset) under realistic assumptions about light and work schedules. Simulations were repeated varying light sensitivity (translated to equivalent ED50 values for interpretability), as well as evening, morning, and daytime illuminances. Brighter evening light led to later predicted circadian and sleep timing, with this effect being amplified by high light sensitivity. Reducing evening light was particularly beneficial for those with high light sensitivity or a long circadian period. Brighter morning light was beneficial for individuals with a long circadian period, or those with both high light sensitivity and high evening light. However, bright morning light could be maladaptive in individuals with a short circadian period or those with low light sensitivity and low evening light. Brighter daytime light attenuated the delaying effects of evening artificial light across conditions, indicating that increasing daytime light was the most universally beneficial lighting intervention. Our results demonstrate how circadian light sensitivity can be used to tailor individual-level solutions that support optimal sleep and circadian timing.</p>","PeriodicalId":15056,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biological Rhythms","volume":" ","pages":"192-204"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12966363/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145768049","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Louise Strøm, Ali Amidi, Lisa M Wu, Peter Meldgaard, Sonia Ancoli-Israel, Mats Lekander, Daniel Mroczek, Robert Zachariae
{"title":"Decline in Circadian Robustness in Lung Cancer Patients During Immunotherapy is Associated With Increased Risk of Disease Progression and Death.","authors":"Louise Strøm, Ali Amidi, Lisa M Wu, Peter Meldgaard, Sonia Ancoli-Israel, Mats Lekander, Daniel Mroczek, Robert Zachariae","doi":"10.1177/07487304251398276","DOIUrl":"10.1177/07487304251398276","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Disruptions in sleep and circadian rhythms have been consistently linked to higher mortality rates in the general population. Among cancer patients, these disruptions are not only prevalent but may significantly influence prognosis. Despite this, sleep and circadian trajectories remain unexplored in the context of cancer, particularly related to prognostic outcomes in modern therapies such as immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), which are rapidly transforming oncological care. In this pioneering report, we examined how trajectories of sleep and circadian rhythms relate to prognostic outcomes in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), offering novel insights into their potential role as modifiable biomarkers of clinical outcomes. Forty-nine treatment-naïve NSCLC patients were enrolled in this prospective longitudinal study. Continuous 24-h recordings of circadian function (Circadian Function Index [CFI]) were collected over the first 5 months of treatment, alongside weekly assessments of insomnia severity (Insomnia Severity Index [ISI]) and estimations of total sleep time (TST) derived from sleep diaries every 3 weeks. Follow-up data, time to treatment discontinuation, disease progression, and cancer-related death were obtained from medical records. We estimated hazard ratios (HRs) for these outcomes based on ISI, TST, and CFI, analyzed as continuous variables and median-split. Cox regression analyses indicated that patients with trajectories portraying circadian robustness below the median had a higher risk of earlier progression (HR = 3.75, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.475-9.536], <i>p</i> = 0.005) and death (HR = 3.07, 95% CI = [1.128-8.360], <i>p</i> = 0.028). No significant associations were found between insomnia severity, TST, and the prognostic outcomes. Patients with more pronounced declines in circadian robustness demonstrated significantly elevated risks of disease progression and mortality. As the circadian rhythm is modifiable, these findings, if replicated, underscore the need for interventional studies aimed at stabilizing circadian rhythms to further explore potential improvements in patient outcomes and efficacy of cancer therapies.</p>","PeriodicalId":15056,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biological Rhythms","volume":" ","pages":"178-191"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145819274","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"In Memoriam Sue Binkley (1944-2025).","authors":"Vincent M Cassone, Gregory L Florant","doi":"10.1177/07487304251399311","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/07487304251399311","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>On 6 January 2025, the field of chronobiology lost a pioneer in Sue Ann Lingenfelter Binkley Tatem, better known as Sue Binkley in scientific circles. Born in Dayton, OH, but moved to Colorado in her high school years, Dr. Binkley received a BS in Biology from the University of Colorado at Boulder, where she met her future husband, Tim Binkley. Sue and Tim had a daughter, Shelley, before moving to Austin, TX, where Sue studied biological rhythms with Michael Menaker at the University of Texas. Sue and Tim separated in 1970 and Sue received her PhD in 1971. Her dissertation research extended the seminal studies in the Menaker Lab showing that surgical removal of the pineal gland of house sparrows, <i>Passer domesticus</i>, abolished free-running circadian locomotor rhythms by demonstrating that circadian patterns of core body temperature were similarly affected. Importantly, her research demonstrated the significance of physiological coupling among oscillators and their multiple outputs.</p>","PeriodicalId":15056,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biological Rhythms","volume":"41 2","pages":"292-295"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147377576","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Rhythmicity of TOR (Target of Rapamycin) Activity Supports Circadian Function in <i>Neurospora crassa</i>.","authors":"Golnoush Akhtari, Milad Falahat Chian, Ethan Myles Sooklal, Patricia Lakin-Thomas","doi":"10.1177/07487304251393577","DOIUrl":"10.1177/07487304251393577","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Circadian (24 h) rhythmicity is a nearly-ubiquitous property of eukaryotic cells, and the mechanisms that generate this rhythmicity have been studied in a number of organisms for many years. However, there are still gaps in our understanding of the generation and regulation of rhythms. Although transcription/translation feedback loops (TTFLs) are said to be essential to generating rhythmicity in eukaryotes, there are many examples of rhythmicity seen in organisms without functioning TTFLs. Our lab previously found that two genes that function in the TOR (Target of Rapamycin) pathway, <i>vta</i> and <i>gtr2</i>, are essential for non-TTFL rhythmicity in the fungus <i>Neurospora crassa.</i> These two mutants were also shown to dampen the output rhythm of spore-formation (conidiation) and the rhythm of the TTFL component protein FRQ, and dampen the amplitude of the underlying oscillator in strains with functioning TTFLs. Therefore, we are interested in the role of TOR in generating and/or sustaining rhythmicity in both the presence and absence of a functioning TTFL. Here we report the development and validation of an improved assay for TOR activity in <i>Neurospora</i>, and using this assay we demonstrate that TOR activity displays circadian rhythmicity in strains with functioning TTFLs. The period of TOR rhythmicity is affected by a long-period mutation in a TTFL component (<i>frq<sup>7</sup></i>), and the TOR rhythm is dampened in the <i>vta</i> and <i>gtr2</i> knockouts. The mean level of TOR activity (mesor) in the <i>vta</i> and <i>gtr2</i> knockout mutants is within the range of the TOR rhythm in wild type, indicating that it is rhythmicity of TOR, not a constant level of activity, that is required to sustain output rhythmicity. These results establish <i>Neurospora</i> as a valuable model for investigating the role of TOR in circadian rhythmicity and implicate TOR activity as a rhythmic state variable of the circadian system.</p>","PeriodicalId":15056,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biological Rhythms","volume":" ","pages":"259-277"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12966361/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145863182","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Selection for the Timing of Adult Emergence Leads to Evolution in the Molecular Circadian Clock and Its Light Input Pathway in <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i> Populations.","authors":"Ashvitha Balaji, E H Sreelakhsmi, Nisha N Kannan","doi":"10.1177/07487304251378197","DOIUrl":"10.1177/07487304251378197","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The light input pathways and the molecular clock are tightly linked, with light serving as the most potent zeitgeber that entrains the clock to the external environment. Our present study focuses on the <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i> populations that have evolved with a precise circadian clock as a correlated response to selection for adult emergence in a narrow window of time over 335 generations. The results of our study showed that flies from populations selected for the timing of adult emergence sleep more during the night phase compared to controls. This sleep was even more enhanced when the light intensity was reduced to 1 lux under a 12 h light:12 h dark cycle. In addition, a significantly higher percentage of these flies exhibited free-running period rather than arrhythmicity compared to the control flies under constant light (1 lux). Moreover, the larvae from selected populations exhibited an increased preference toward darkness than light indicating that the effect of selection extends beyond the adult circadian light input pathway, influencing the innate circadian regulated photobehavior in larvae. We examined the transcript oscillation of the circadian photoreceptor <i>cryptochrome</i> (<i>cry</i>), along with the core clock genes <i>period</i> (<i>per</i>) and <i>timeless</i> (<i>tim</i>) in adult flies to explore the molecular basis of the evolved precise circadian clocks and to determine whether selection influences the circadian light input pathway. Flies from the selected population exhibited a phase advance in the transcript oscillation of <i>per</i>, <i>tim</i>, and <i>cry</i>, indicating that the molecular circadian clock and its light input pathway evolve as a correlated response to the selection for the timing of adult emergence in <i>D. melanogaster</i> populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":15056,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Biological Rhythms","volume":" ","pages":"94-110"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145389816","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}