Bmal1 mice

Male and female C57Bl/6J mice and Bmal1^+/− mice were purchased from Jackson Laboratories (Bar Harbor, ME, USA). The Bmal1^+/− mice were bred and genotyped according to the recommended protocol to generate sex-, age-, and littermate-matched wild-type (WT) and KO animals. The mice had free access to water and a regular chow diet (Teklad) for the duration of the study and were allowed to acclimate for one week to the 12-hour light, 12-hour dark (lights on at 06:00 or Zeitgeber Time (ZT) 0) and constant room temperature conditions at the animal facility before use. All experimental procedures were approved by the Animal Care Committee of the University of Toronto.

The animal studies outlined were reviewed and approved by animal care regulatory boards at McMaster University (#AUPP 19-02-09), or the University of Windsor (#AUPP 20-17). Bmal1^+/- mice (Jackson Laboratories, Bar Harbor, B6.129-Arntltm1Bra/J stock #009100) and Per2::Luciferase mice (Jackson Laboratories, Bar Harbor, B6.129S6-Per2tm1Jt/J stock #006852) were housed in a barrier facility under a 12-hour light/12-hour dark (LD) cycle (with lights on at 7am/Zeitgeber Time 0, and light off at 7pm/Zeitgeber Time 12). Litter mates were used in experiments and were co-housed prior to testing. Normal chow was administered ad libitum.

Bmal1^+/− mice are introduced from the Jackson Laboratory and had been bred in the Model Animal Research Center of Nanjing University (The GemPharmatech Company). Heterozygous mice were intercrossed to obtain homozygous Bmal1-deficient (Bmal1^−/−) mice as well as control wild-type mice. All mice were fed with a chow diet and raised in a clean room with 12-h light and 12-h dark cycles. All animal experiments were conducted strictly in accordance with the National Institutes of Health Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and were approved by the Animal Care and Use Committee of Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University.