P-body sequestration of clock transcripts delays repressor synthesis to set circadian period in Drosophila

Negative-feedback oscillators require a delay between the accumulation of a repressor’s mRNA and the action of its protein. In the circadian clock, this delay has been attributed largely to post-translational control of PERIOD (PER) stability and nuclear entry. The RNA-binding proteins shown to regulate per translation, ATAXIN-2 and its partners, promote it, leaving open whether any step holds clock transcripts back before they are translated. Here, using time-resolved miniTurbo proximity labeling of endogenous PER across four phases of the circadian cycle in Drosophila clock neurons, we define a 252-protein PER proximitome that partitions into a nuclear arm and a cytoplasmic RNA-metabolism arm. A behavioral RNAi screen identified two P-body components, the DEAD-box helicase Me31B (DDX6) and the 5′–3′ exonuclease Pacman (Pcm; XRN1), as strong regulators of circadian rhythms. Using single-molecule RNA-FISH, proximity RNA editing and ribosome profiling, we show that as per and tim transcripts accumulate, they localize to Me31B-labeled P-bodies and are poorly translated, most prominently at ZT12. Me31B knockdown disrupts P-bodies and releases per mRNA from them, causing PER to accumulate earlier and to ∼2-fold higher levels, whereas Me31B overexpression delays PER accumulation and lengthens the free-running period by ∼2 h. Knockdown of Pcm, in contrast, impairs clearance of per mRNA, sustaining PER and TIM accumulation, prolonging the repression phase and abolishing cycling of ∼89% of rhythmic transcripts. Together, these findings identify P-body sequestration as a repressive step that delays repressor synthesis, and Pcm-dependent decay as required to end repression on time. Given the deep conservation of DDX6 and XRN1, RNP compartments may provide a conserved means of generating delay in circadian and other negative-feedback circuits.