In the Driver’s Seat

What is it about?

In this Commentary, we evaluate evidence regarding the relative contribution of the different steps of gene expression (transcriptional, post-transcriptional, translational, etc.) in determining daily mRNA and protein rhythms in eukaryotes. We argue that it’s too early to assign a predominant role for one specific stage in this process, as some papers have done, due to a variety of biological and particularly, technical, reasons. We propose that through a variety of coupling mechanisms, transcription, even when apparently arrhythmic, might play a relevant role in determining oscillations in mRNA and protein levels. Finally, we argue that RNAPII recruitment is rhythmic on a global scale, setting the stage for global nascent transcription, but that tissue-specific mechanisms ultimately locally specify the different processes under clock control.

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