F-Box And Leucine Rich Repeat Protein 15 (FBXL15)

Koh et al. (2006) identified mutations in Drosophila 'jetlag' (jet), a gene coding for an F-box protein with leucine-rich repeats, that result in reduced light sensitivity of the circadian clock. Mutant flies showed rhythmic behavior in constant light, reduced phase shifts in response to light pulses, and reduced light-dependent degradation of TIM. Expression of jet along with circadian photoreceptor cryptochrome (CRY) in cultured fly cells conferred light-dependent degradation onto TIM, thereby reconstituting the acute response of the circadian clock to light in a cell culture system. Koh et al. (2006) concluded that their results suggest that JET is essential for resetting the clock by transmitting light signals from CRY to TIM.