Between 10% and 15% of the human protein-coding genome is regulated by circadian clocks, and 40% to 50% of those genes are involved in metabolism.
"I read somewhere that something between 10% to 15% of the entire protein-coding human genome is actually regulated by these circadian clocks, and anywhere between around, like, 40% to 50% of those genes are actually involved in metabolism." (said at 0:04:32)
Circadian transcriptomic profiling in mammalian and primate tissues indicates that approximately 10% to 15% of the transcriptome oscillates in a circadian manner within any single peripheral tissue (most prominently the liver), with a major fraction of these cycling genes encoding rate-limiting enzymes and regulators of cellular metabolism. However, when evaluating the entire genome across all body tissues combined, transcriptomic atlases show that a much higher percentage (over 40% to 80% of protein-coding genes in primates and mice) exhibits 24-hour rhythmic expression in at least one organ.
- context: Liver clock: Malalignment and entrainment therapeutics. (World journal of gastrointestinal pharmacology and therapeutics 2026)
"The liver clock regulates the expression of 10%-15% of the transcriptome, including key metabolic genes." (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmedfull study (doi) - context: Multi-Omics Landscape of Circadian Clock Dysregulation Across the Chronic Liver Disease Sp… (International journal of molecular sciences 2026)
"The near-complete absence of temporally resolved human tissue data remains the principal barrier to translational progress." (abstract, conclusions, passage verified)
pubmedfull study (doi)