Advances in integrating molecular genetics with behavior and physiology at a high temporal resolution has led to a re-appreciation of intrinsically driven biological rhythms with periods shorter than 24 hours that are known as ultradian rhythms and include tidal rhythms. These ultradian rhythms have been reported in many different species including humans, mice, large artic mammals, Drosophila, yeast as well as mammalian cell culture, and are seen in a wide range of biological processes, including behaviour, metabolism, hormone release, gene expression and protein synthesis.
Whilst endogenously driven ultradian rhythms are increasingly reported in studies that sample at a frequency high enough to detect short period rhythms, their function and driving mechanisms remain largely unknown. Ultradian rhythms are not dependant on the well-known circadian, 24-hour biological clocks, but interactions between ultradian and circadian rhythms have been reported which appear particularly sensitive to modulation by food availability and energy balance. Despite this close relationship to the well-recognised and studied circadian rhythms, ultradian rhythms remain an emerging field which is seeing increasing research activity, but as a research community is less well organised.
It is therefore timely and relevant to comprehensively describe the field of ultradian rhythm research, establish the state-of-the-art in models and methods, and identify the research frontiers in ultradian rhythm research. In this research topic we will review what is currently known about ultradian rhythms, as well as different sections focusing on empirical, mechanistic and modelling reports. The collection of papers will showcase the current state of ultradian rhythm research, and will highlight the upcoming challenges that the field faces in unmasking the role of ultradian rhythms.
Advances in integrating molecular genetics with behavior and physiology at a high temporal resolution has led to a re-appreciation of intrinsically driven biological rhythms with periods shorter than 24 hours that are known as ultradian rhythms and include tidal rhythms. These ultradian rhythms have been reported in many different species including humans, mice, large artic mammals, Drosophila, yeast as well as mammalian cell culture, and are seen in a wide range of biological processes, including behaviour, metabolism, hormone release, gene expression and protein synthesis.
Whilst endogenously driven ultradian rhythms are increasingly reported in studies that sample at a frequency high enough to detect short period rhythms, their function and driving mechanisms remain largely unknown. Ultradian rhythms are not dependant on the well-known circadian, 24-hour biological clocks, but interactions between ultradian and circadian rhythms have been reported which appear particularly sensitive to modulation by food availability and energy balance. Despite this close relationship to the well-recognised and studied circadian rhythms, ultradian rhythms remain an emerging field which is seeing increasing research activity, but as a research community is less well organised.
It is therefore timely and relevant to comprehensively describe the field of ultradian rhythm research, establish the state-of-the-art in models and methods, and identify the research frontiers in ultradian rhythm research. In this research topic we will review what is currently known about ultradian rhythms, as well as different sections focusing on empirical, mechanistic and modelling reports. The collection of papers will showcase the current state of ultradian rhythm research, and will highlight the upcoming challenges that the field faces in unmasking the role of ultradian rhythms.
