Circadian Clocks
Organised by DrWeiqun Lu and Prof. Hugh Piggins (University of Manchester)
Every organism on earth relies on energy from sun. The daily light-dark cycle exerts rhythmic changes in the behaviour and/or physiology of most species. Many of these daily changes are controlled by endogenous biological clocks possessing near 24h (circadian) periodicity. In mammals, the master circadian clock resides in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) of the ventral hypothalamus. To synchronize internal body state with external time cues (Zeitgebers), the SCN clock is reset to these Zeitgebers. The SCN clock then communicates timing information via a series of effectors to orchestrate the activities of peripheral circadian clocks present in many peripheral organs and tissues. In the absence of external time cues, the SCN can sustain these circadian cycles in physiology and behaviour. It is well-established that an array of so-called clock genes and their protein products, form the molecular basis of circadian clocks and act to regulate various physiological processes throughout the body including influence on cell proliferation and tissue regeneration. Mutations in the clock genes or other disruptions of circadian rhythm generation impair health and well-being of the organism.
Recently, rapid advances in the molecular biology and genetics of model organisms have paved the way for a new era in understanding temporal aspects of circadian clocks and biological rhythms. Studies of how the clock system integrates molecular networks within the whole animal, and in humans, have begun to benefit from the analysis of molecular clocks in mammalian cell and animal models in which molecular components of nature's timepiece can be dismantled and reconstituted. The circadian clock session would provide opportunity for scientists in this area to communicate to each other and help a better understanding the relationship between light and circadian rhythm, circadian regulation of sleep and energy metabolism, how central and peripheral circadian pacemakers communicate and how peripheral clocks regulate behaviour and physiology. We will welcome all researchers using different model system (vertebrates, invertebrates and plants) to join us in Marseille.
Session Programme - Tuesday 8th July
Chair: Hugh Piggins
13:30 Introduction
13:35 Prof. Russell Foster (University of Oxford)
Inner retinal and extraretinal photoreceptor up-dates: isolation and characterisation of VA Opsin in Xenopus and the chicken [C2.1]
14:15 Prof. Ralph Mistlberger (Simon Fraser University)
Neurobiology of food-entrainable circadian rhythms in mammals [C2.2]
14:55 Refreshment Break
Chair: Weiqun Lu
15:30 Prof. Achim Kramer (Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin)
A genome-wide RNAi screen for novel components of the mammalian circadian clock [C2.3]
16:10 Professor Andrew Loudon (University of Manchester)
The biology of the tau mutant and the role of Casein kinase 1 in circadian timing in mammals [C2.11]
Wednesday 9th July
Chair: Weiqun Lu
09:00 Prof. Hugh Piggins (University of Manchester)
Circadian oscillators in extra- SCN brain sites[C2.4]
09:40 Dr Clare Guilding (The University of Manchester)
An ensemble of novel circadian oscillators in the mouse mediobasal hypothalamus [C2.5]
10:00 Miss Sara Namvar (University of Manchester)
Are Hypothalamic Oscillators Dysfunctional with High Fat Feeding? [C2.6]
10:20 Dr Alun Hughes (University of Manchester)
Live Imaging of Altered Period1 Driven GFP Expression in Mice Lacking the VPAC2 Receptor [C2.25]
10.40 Refreshment Break
Chair: Hugh Piggins
11:00 Dr Anthony Balmforth (University of Leeds)
Characterisation of self-sustaining circadian oscillations of clock genes in cultured human adipocytes [C2.7]
11:30 Dr Weiqun Lu (University of Manchester)
Life with stress – a clock work [C2.8]
12:00 Lunch
Chair: Weiqun Lu
13:30 Dr David Hazlerigg (University of Aberdeen)
Circadian clocks & melatonin-dependent seasonal timing in mammals [C2.9]
14:10 Prof Paul Pevet (INCI UMR 7168, CNRS and University Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg France)
Melatonin in the multi-oscillatory circadian network [C2.10]
14:50 Refreshment Break
Chair: Hugh Piggins
15: 30 Ms Fiona Scott (University of Manchester)
Effects of Melatonin on Neuronal Activity in the Rat Suprachiasmatic Nuclei (SCN) in vitro. [C2.26]
15:50 Dr Mino Belle (University of Machester)
Circadian rhythm in membrane properties of Period1::GFP neurons in the suprachiasmatic (SCN) nucleus of mice [C2.27]
16:10 Prof. Charalambos Kyriacou (University of Leicester)
Flies go wild: natural variation in circadian behaviour [C2.12]
Thursday 10th July
Chair: Weiqun Lu
09:00 Dr Nicholas S. Foulkes (Institute of Toxicology and Genetics)
The ins and outs of zebrafish circadian timing [C2.13]
09:40 Dr David Whitmore (UCL)
Fish circadian clocks: from river to dish [C2.14]
10:20 Dr Margit Egg (University of Innsbruck)
Hypoxia - a zeitgeber of the circadian clock? [C2.15]
10:40 Refreshment Break
Chair: Hugh Piggins
11:10 Prof. Hugh Nimmo (University of Glasgow)
Organ specificity and communication in the Arabidopsis circadian clock [C2.16]
11:50 Dr Isabelle Carre (University of Warwick)
Dual oscillator control of LHY transcription in Arabidopsis [C2.17]
12:10 Lunch
Chair: Weiqun Lu
13:30 Dr Paul Devlin (Royal Holloway, University of London)
The role of FHY3 in red light input to the Arabidopsis clock [C2.18]
14:10 Prof. Dorothee Staiger (University of Bielefeld)
RNA-binding proteins as mediators of circadian clock output in Arabidopsis thaliana [C2.19]
14:50 Refreshment Break
Chair: Hugh Piggins
15:20 Dr Anthony Hall (University of Liverpool)
Temperature compensation of the Arabidopsis circadian clock [C2.20]
16:00 Mr Roland Meszter (University of Liverpool)
Molecular dissection of the circadian clock output pathway that mediates the temporal coordination of Crassulacean acid metabolism [C2.21]
16:20 Miss Katharine Hubbard (University of Cambridge)
The Arabidopsis thaliana Calmodulin
