24/7 Space News
EXO WORLDS
Tracing ancient cyanobacteria reveals early origins of circadian clocks
illustration only
Tracing ancient cyanobacteria reveals early origins of circadian clocks
by Riko Seibo
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) May 21, 2025

To shed light on the evolutionary roots of the cyanobacterial circadian clock, a Japanese research team has traced the development of timekeeping proteins from ancient bacterial ancestors. Their study focused on the oscillatory behavior of KaiA, KaiB, and KaiC proteins, comparing the mechanisms in modern cyanobacteria to those of ancestral versions.

"Extant cyanobacteria utilize a circadian clock to predict the light-dark environmental cycle by Earth's rotation in order to achieve efficient photosynthetic reactions. We wanted to know the evolutionary history of when ancient bacteria acquired the circadian clock and how this property was inherited by the present cyanobacteria," explained Associate Professor Atsushi Mukaiyama of Fukui Prefectural University.

Cyanobacteria, known for their role in shaping the planet's oceans and atmosphere, emerged around 3 billion years ago. These bacteria survived critical planetary shifts, including the Great Oxidation event about 2.3 billion years ago, and two global glaciation periods known as Snowball Earth events, before undergoing further evolutionary transformation during the Neoproterozoic Oxygenation event.

Using fossil evidence and molecular models, researchers believe early cyanobacteria already had basic oxygenic photosynthesis systems. Given the importance of light-dark cycles for photosynthetic efficiency, the team investigated whether a circadian clock existed during these ancient eras.

The researchers utilized the cyanobacteria strain Synechococcus elongatus to study circadian rhythms. By reconstituting the KaiC protein oscillator in vitro, they analyzed how the structure and function of these proteins evolved. Their findings show that early clock proteins displayed rhythmic cycles of 18 to 20 hours, suggesting Earth's faster rotation during that era. "The ancient cyanobacterial clock was synchronized to the cycle of 18 to 20 hours. This means that the history of the Earth's rotation period has been restored by tracing the evolution of clock protein molecules," said Assistant Professor Yoshihiko Furuike from the Institute for Molecular Science.

Originally, the oldest KaiC proteins lacked the features necessary for rhythmic oscillation. However, during pivotal evolutionary periods such as the Great Oxidation and Snowball Earth events, these proteins gained the molecular structure needed to support self-sustained circadian function. This adaptation was later inherited by modern photosynthetic cyanobacteria.

The study not only enhances understanding of how biological clocks evolved but also has implications for synthetic biology. "Our ultimate goal is to design modified cyanobacteria that can adapt to the rotation period of planets and satellites other than Earth by shortening or lengthening the period of the Kai-protein oscillator. Cyanobacteria have taken a long time to tune their clock to 24 hours, but we may be able to achieve even faster evolution using modern knowledge and technology," said Professor Shuji Akiyama of the Institute for Molecular Science.

Research Report:Evolutionary Origins of Self-Sustained Kai protein Circadian Oscillators in Cyanobacteria

Related Links
National Institutes of Natural Sciences
Lands Beyond Beyond - extra solar planets - news and science
Life Beyond Earth

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
EXO WORLDS
Membranes may have shaped the selection of life's building blocks
London UK (SPX) May 21, 2025
Scientists investigating the origin of life suggest that primitive membranes may have influenced which biomolecules became foundational to life. Their study examines how the earliest cell membranes could have filtered molecules, favoring those used in modern biology. Cells are defined by their membranes, which regulate what substances can enter or leave. This control is especially relevant to key molecules like the sugar components of DNA and RNA and the amino acids that form proteins. These molec ... read more

EXO WORLDS
Momentus to Host Portal Space Systems' First In-space Tech Demo

Vienna calling: Strauss's 'Blue Danube' waltzes into outer space

Revolutionary Passive Systems Transform Plant Watering in Microgravity

Czech Republic eyes astronaut mission through Axiom Space collaboration

EXO WORLDS
Dawn Aerospace Opens Orders for Aurora Suborbital Spaceplane with 2027 Deliveries Planned

From Rice to orbit: Student engineers build safer, low-cost satellite thruster

SES selects Helios kick stage from Impulse for direct-to-orbit satellite missions

Rocket Lab to deploy BlackSky Gen3 satellite on next Electron launch

EXO WORLDS
Rocky road geology reveals billion year story inside Martian crater

Martian dust devil photobombs NASA Perseverance rover in milestone selfie

NASA discovers phenomenon that could have led to water loss on Mars

NASA's MAVEN Makes First Observation of Atmospheric Sputtering at Mars

EXO WORLDS
China Establishes UN-SPIDER Regional Support Office at Wuhan University

Tiangong returns largest sample set yet for biological and materials science research

Space is a place to found a community not a colony

China's Shenzhou-19 astronauts return to Earth

EXO WORLDS
Iridium and Syniverse to Enable Direct-to-Device Satellite Connectivity for MNOs Worldwide

China expands satellite networks for smart connectivity

Intelsat Secures Indian Approval to Expand Satellite Broadcast Services

GoBIC intersatellite service reaches operational maturity with TRL9 milestone

EXO WORLDS
NASA Langley Pioneers Vertical Testing of Long Composite Booms

Camouflage strategy developed for stealth and thermal control of satellites in infrared spectrum

ITRI partners with MediaTek and Chunghwa Telecom to revolutionize B5G satellite connectivity

Why Small Satellites Fail More Often Than Expected

EXO WORLDS
Tracing ancient cyanobacteria reveals early origins of circadian clocks

A rare planet may orbit brown dwarf pair at right angles

Unveiling the secrets of planet formation in environments of high UV radiation

How chaotic planet formation may explain wide-orbit worlds like Planet Nine

EXO WORLDS
SwRI study shows Europa's icy surface constantly reshaping

Jupiter Was Formerly Twice Its Current Size and Had a Much Stronger Magnetic Field

The hunt for mysterious 'Planet Nine' offers up a surprise

SwRI Gathers First Ultraviolet Data from NASA's Europa Clipper Mission

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.