subtilis continues to show circadian rhythms in both constant dark and constant light, and the researchers reveal examples of nuanced responses found in the circadian clocks of many other organisms. It reveals that these clocks exist in strains collected from natural environments, so could be widespread in this bacteria. This new study is a significant step forward for multiple reasons. We might capitalize on knowledge of the clock to improve health outcomes and increase sustainability of food production or biotechnology.”

The senior author of the publication, Professor Martha Merrow at LMU Munich said: “This study shows that circadian clocks are widely found in Bacillus subtilis. This bioluminescence guided the team in monitoring the bacterial clock as conditions varied. Researchers used a technique which inserts an enzyme called luciferase that produces light when a gene is expressed. This was the first-time circadian clocks had been observed in the bacterium Bacillus subtilis. Previous work by this collaborative team had demonstrated the existence of a circadian clock in a lab-derived strain of this bacteria. Professor Antony Dodd from the John Innes Centre added, “It is astonishing that a unicellular organism with such a small genome has a circadian clock with some properties that evoke clocks in more complex organisms.” Francesca Sartor (LMU Munich) reports: “The circadian clock in this microbe is pervasive: we see it regulating several genes, and a range of different behaviours.” This work will provide diverse opportunities, from precision timing of the use of antibiotics, to bioengineering smarter gut and soil microbiomes.Īn international collaboration from Ludwig Maximillian University Munich (LMU Munich), The John Innes Centre, The Technical University of Denmark, and Leiden University, made the discovery by probing gene expression as evidence of clock activity in the widespread soil bacterium Bacillus subtilis. New research shows just how complex and sophisticated these bacterial circadian clocks are, clearing the way for an exciting new phase of study.

Image: Bacillus subtilis bioluminescence view moreĬredit: Ella Baker – Jack Dorling John Innes Centre.īacteria make up more than 10% of all living things but until recently we had little realization that, as in humans, soil bacteria have internal clocks that synchronize their activities with the 24-hour cycles of day and night on Earth.

Molecular clock