Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40234415›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Environmental and molecular noise buffering by the cyanobacterial clock in individual cells.

Aleksandra Eremina, Christian Schwall, Teresa Saez, Lennart Witting, Dietrich Kohlheyer, Bruno M C Martins, Philipp Thomas, James C W Locke

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Intrinsic period stability of the cyanobacterial circadian oscillator across in vitro and in vivo conditions.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2025
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Aleksandra EreminaSainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Christian SchwallSainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Teresa SaezSainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Lennart WittingIBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0009-3980-7577
Dietrich KohlheyerIBG-1: Biotechnology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6215-1857
Bruno M C MartinsUniversity of Warwick, Warwick, UK. bruno.martins@warwick.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9730-7425
Philipp ThomasImperial College London, London, UK. p.thomas@imperial.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4919-8452
James C W LockeSainsbury Laboratory, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. james.locke@slcu.cam.ac.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0670-1943

Funding

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation) Project ID 458090666 / CRC1535/1Gatsby Charitable Foundation GAT3272/GLCLeverhulme Trust RPG-2022-328
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Circadian clocks enable organisms to anticipate daily cycles, while being robust to molecular and environmental noise. Here, we show how the clock of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 buffers genetic and environmental perturbations through its core KaiABC phosphorylation loop. We first characterise single-cell clock dynamics in clock mutants using a microfluidics device that allows precise control of the microenvironment. We find that known clock regulators are dispensable for clock robustness, whilst perturbations of the core clock reveal that the wild type operates at a noise optimum that we can reproduce in a stochastic model of just the core phosphorylation loop. We then examine how the clock responds to noisy environments, including natural light conditions. The model accurately predicts how the clock filters out environmental noise, including fast light fluctuations, to keep time while remaining responsive to environmental shifts. Our findings illustrate how a simple clock network can exhibit complex noise filtering properties, advancing our understanding of how biological circuits can perform accurately in natural environments.

Indexed as

Circadian ClocksSynechococcusBacterial ProteinsCircadian RhythmCircadian Rhythm Signaling Peptides and ProteinsGene Expression Regulation, BacterialLightModels, BiologicalMutationPhosphorylationSingle-Cell AnalysisBacterial ProteinsCircadian Rhythm Signaling Peptides and ProteinsKaiB protein, cyanobacteria

Identifiers

PMID40234415
PMCPMC12000584

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.