Abstract

Drosophila circadian rhythm is an interesting topic for researchers and a lot of mathematic models have been constructed. Most of the studies of circadian rhythm are based upon the interactive positive and negative feedback loops controlling the circadian clock. Recently many studies have shown that microRNAs (miRNAs) have important effects on the circadian clock. In this paper, we present a detailed mathematic model of miRNA-mediated Drosophila circadian clock system, with incorporation miRNA-regulation, targeted to two different mRNAs per and clk, into an existing model. Based on numerical simulations, we explore the dynamic properties of the circadian clock regulated by miRNAs with different target mRNAs with the help of parameter variation and sensitivity analysis. The results indicate that miRNAs targeted to different mRNAs have different effects on the dynamic behaviors of Drosophila circadian rhythms. This study may help biologists to identify target mRNAs for miRNAs in Drosophila circadian rhythm.

Keywords: Circadian rhythm, Drosophila, dynamic behavior, microRNA, parameter sensitivity, robustness, target mRNA.

Graphical Abstract