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Circadian clocks allow for the physiological anticipation of daily environmental changes. A circadian rhythm in intracellular Mg 2+ was recently discovered in multiple eukaryotes. Given the pivotal role for Mg 2+ in metabolism, Mg 2+ rhythms could affect cellular energy expenditure over the daily cycle. To probe the potential mechanisms underlying the generation of cellular Mg 2+ rhythms, we present a phylogenetic analysis of Mg 2+ transport proteins. Extensive conservation was observed for ancestral prokaryotic proteins, identifying these as candidate proteins mediating Mg 2+ rhythms across eukaryotes. We also posit that shared allosteric regulation of Mg 2+ transport proteins might underlie Mg 2+ rhythms and propose a reciprocal feedback model between the rhythmic usage of Mg 2+ and rhythmic transport activity.
Feord et al. (Mon,) studied this question.