- Tseng, Roger;
- Goularte, Nicolette F;
- Chavan, Archana;
- Luu, Jansen;
- Cohen, Susan E;
- Chang, Yong-Gang;
- Heisler, Joel;
- Li, Sheng;
- Michael, Alicia K;
- Tripathi, Sarvind;
- Golden, Susan S;
- LiWang, Andy;
- Partch, Carrie L
Circadian clocks are ubiquitous timing systems that induce rhythms of biological activities in synchrony with night and day. In cyanobacteria, timing is generated by a posttranslational clock consisting of KaiA, KaiB, and KaiC proteins and a set of output signaling proteins, SasA and CikA, which transduce this rhythm to control gene expression. Here, we describe crystal and nuclear magnetic resonance structures of KaiB-KaiC,KaiA-KaiB-KaiC, and CikA-KaiB complexes. They reveal how the metamorphic properties of KaiB, a protein that adopts two distinct folds, and the post-adenosine triphosphate hydrolysis state of KaiC create a hub around which nighttime signaling events revolve, including inactivation of KaiA and reciprocal regulation of the mutually antagonistic signaling proteins, SasA and CikA.