PER-TIM Interactions in Living Drosophila Cells: An Interval Timer for the Circadian Clock

In contrast to current models, fluorescence resonance energy transfer measurements using a single-cell imaging assay with fluorescent forms of PER and TIM showed that these proteins bind rapidly and persist in the cytoplasm while gradually accumulating in discrete foci. After approximately 6 hours, complexes abruptly dissociated, as PER and TIM independently moved to the nucleus in a narrow time frame. The per(L) mutation delayed nuclear accumulation in vivo and in our cultured cell system, but without affecting rates of PER/TIM assembly or dissociation. This finding points to a previously unrecognized form of temporal regulation that underlies the periodicity of the circadian clock.