Prof. Susan S. Golden from University of California, San Diego gave a lecture on June 26, 2018 at IHB.   

At the invitation of the Key Laboratory of Algal Biology of Chinese Academy of Sciences under Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB) of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Prof. Susan S. Golden from University of California, San Diego gave a lecture with the title of “How Cyanobacteria Tell Time” on June 26, 2018 at IHB.  

In her presentation, Prof. Golden showed that most organisms, ranging from cyanobacteria to human, execute temporal physiological activities driven by circadian oscillators. She used S. elongatus as a model to explain how a cell keeps track of time, executes activities according to a temporal program, and synchronizes the internal clock with the external solar cycle.  

The circadian clock in S. elongatus is a remarkable molecular machine. Key components of the oscillator consist of KaiA, KaiB, and KaiC. Autophosphorylation/dephosphorylation of KaiB, which are regulated by KaiA and KaiC, leads to the periodic conformational change of the KaiB complex.  

The output of such circadian rhythm is mediated by the interactions between KaiB and other regulators, such as the kinase SasA, the kinase CikA, and the global transcriptional factor RpaA, et al. Eventually, the circadian clock of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatu regulates global gene expression patterns, the timing of cell division, and metabolism. 

Prof. Susan S. Golden, who has been engaged in circadian research about cyanobacteria for more than 30 years, serves as the director at the Center for Circadian Biology; HHMI professor, Chancellor's Associates Chair (III) in Molecular Biology; member of the Faculty of 1000 Biology, fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and member of the National Academy of Sciences. 

Prof. Susan S. Golden from University of California, San Diego gave a lecture on June 26, 2018 at IHB.