Environmental factors are not constant but oscillate in a periodic and predictable manner. These environmental cycles have profoundly affected life on Earth and have fostered the evolution of biological clocks in most living organisms, from bacteria to mammals and plants. Among them, aquatic organisms represent an excellent model for studies in chronobiology for several reasons:
- Life and biological rhythms evolved in the sea;
- They present a large number of species adapted to a wide variety of habitats (from freshwater to seawater, from epipelagic zones to the deep-sea), hence making it relatively easy to find species that are ideally suited for each field of comparative physiology;
- They are excellent models to study the evolution of the circadian system;
- Species such as the zebrafish and medaka are powerful genetic model organisms for basic research and applications in biomedicine;
- Research in chronobiology can be applied to aquaculture, currently considered by the FAO as one of the key industries for food production.
Despite its importance and great potential, the chronobiology of aquatic organisms has not received as much attention as for other organisms such as mammals. Therefore, the main goal of the present Research Topic is to increase awareness of the last advances in chronobiology of aquatic organisms and how they can contribute to improving fields such as aquaculture and environment-related topics such as the response of marine organisms to climate change. In addition, through this Research Topic, we intend to foster the interest of scientists working with fish and other aquatic organisms for the research on biological rhythms.
This Frontiers Research Topic aims to focus on the following sub-topics:
• Importance of the different environmental synchronizers (light, temperature, food availability, tides) for the circadian system of aquatic organisms.
• Relationship between central and peripheral oscillators in aquatic organisms.
• Ontogeny of circadian rhythms.
• Use of cell cultures as a tool for unraveling the mechanisms of the fish circadian clock and direct light input
• Comparative studies involving fish and aquatic invertebrates.
• Rhythms in extreme aquatic ecosystems (deep sea, caves).
• Daily, lunar and seasonal rhythms of the endocrine system and reproduction.
• Application of chronobiology in aquaculture: rhythms of feeding behavior, digestion and metabolism; rhythms in the stress response to manipulation; chronotoxicology and chronopharmacology.
Environmental factors are not constant but oscillate in a periodic and predictable manner. These environmental cycles have profoundly affected life on Earth and have fostered the evolution of biological clocks in most living organisms, from bacteria to mammals and plants. Among them, aquatic organisms represent an excellent model for studies in chronobiology for several reasons:
- Life and biological rhythms evolved in the sea;
- They present a large number of species adapted to a wide variety of habitats (from freshwater to seawater, from epipelagic zones to the deep-sea), hence making it relatively easy to find species that are ideally suited for each field of comparative physiology;
- They are excellent models to study the evolution of the circadian system;
- Species such as the zebrafish and medaka are powerful genetic model organisms for basic research and applications in biomedicine;
- Research in chronobiology can be applied to aquaculture, currently considered by the FAO as one of the key industries for food production.
Despite its importance and great potential, the chronobiology of aquatic organisms has not received as much attention as for other organisms such as mammals. Therefore, the main goal of the present Research Topic is to increase awareness of the last advances in chronobiology of aquatic organisms and how they can contribute to improving fields such as aquaculture and environment-related topics such as the response of marine organisms to climate change. In addition, through this Research Topic, we intend to foster the interest of scientists working with fish and other aquatic organisms for the research on biological rhythms.
This Frontiers Research Topic aims to focus on the following sub-topics:
• Importance of the different environmental synchronizers (light, temperature, food availability, tides) for the circadian system of aquatic organisms.
• Relationship between central and peripheral oscillators in aquatic organisms.
• Ontogeny of circadian rhythms.
• Use of cell cultures as a tool for unraveling the mechanisms of the fish circadian clock and direct light input
• Comparative studies involving fish and aquatic invertebrates.
• Rhythms in extreme aquatic ecosystems (deep sea, caves).
• Daily, lunar and seasonal rhythms of the endocrine system and reproduction.
• Application of chronobiology in aquaculture: rhythms of feeding behavior, digestion and metabolism; rhythms in the stress response to manipulation; chronotoxicology and chronopharmacology.