GENETIC-CONTROL OF BIOLOGICAL RHYTHMS - INDEPENDENT EXPRESSION OF EACH RHYTHM PARAMETER

Biological rhythm whose pattern approaches a sinusoidal curve can be c haracterized by four parameters: Period, Mesor, Acrophase and Amplitud e. Inheritance patterns of these parameters were assessed by monitorin g White Blood Cell (WBC) count rhythms of C57BL/6J mice, BALB/c mice a nd the F1 progeny prior and after injection of Cisplatinum at either 0 900, 1500, 2100, or 0300. All untreated mice exhibited similar WBC rhy thms while a variety of rhythm phenotypes was revealed among the injec ted mice. Analyses of the variety in the parental strains and F1 proge ny suggested that each of the rhythm parameters is independently contr olled.