Any biological change in the body that are repeated over a period of ~24 hours and maintained continuously in a rhythmic manner despite lack of external stimuli are termed to be a circadian rhythm. The circadian rhythms are found in most of the living organism at different levels (e.g. molecular, cellular, behavioral levels). The term “circadian” has Latin origin, where circa means “about/approximate” and diem represents “a day”.
The circadian clock
The circadian rhythms are driven by circadian clock (circadian oscillator). The clock regulates several basic life processes such as human sleep-wake cycles, body temperature, food digestion, etc.
The Circadian defects
There are several human diseases (e.g. sleep disorders) directly linked to the circadian defects. This necessities genomic investigation of circadian rhythms for uncovering treatment mechanism of human diseases. A comprehensive molecular understanding of circadian clocks is critical for human dysrhythmia pathogenesis.
How we can help?
In our lab, the Center for Circadian Clocks at Soochow University, we study circadian rhythmicity in zebrafish. We use genome editing tools (e.g. TALEN, CRISPR/Cas9) to derive a variety of datasets for mutant zebrafish circadian clock genes. We study molecular genetic mechanisms underlying zebrafish circadian rhythmicity. Using TALEN and CRISPR/Cas9 techniques, we have generated a number of mutants for zebrafish circadian clock genes (e.g. Bmal, Nr1d1/Rev-erbα, Cebpb, etc). The roles of these genes in orchestrating the circadian clock and related life processes are being analyzed.
Out research aims at providing novel mechanisms to better understand the circadian clock defect related human diseases, such as porphyria. We are actively studying different dimensions of porphyria. In fact, we have successfully derived several models of zebrafish to investigate human porphyria.
Got queries? Feel free to post in our forum. Our publication list would provide you a comprehensive idea about our research. You may also want to check the profile of our lab members to get to know the ongoing research better.