Propensity of a circadian clock to adjust to the 24 h day-night light cycle and its sensitivity to molecular noise

Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2006

The circadian clock of Drosophila melanogaster and its tendency to adjust to the day-night light cycle is simulated by deterministic and stochastic methods. The robustness of the locking to the light-cycle with respect to molecular noise is studied. It is found that within the model studied, the molecular noise in the stochastic simulation erases the finer injection-locking structures, stronger injection signals are needed and the locking has the character of prolonged locked time intervals with cycle slips in between. The simulations are compared to a simple injection-locking model with noise that seems to describe the overall behavior well. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.