A model is proposed that an ATPase called EA4 measures time for an active resumption of embryonic development at the end of
Bombyx diapause. The timer function of EA4 comprises a built-in mechanism in the EA4 protein structure and it may undergo a series of conformational changes with time. The carbohydrate moiety of EA4 regulates the time measurement through its interaction with a peptide named PIN. PIN forms an equimolar complex with EA4 and presumably inhibits the conformational change of EA4 to hold the timer. Winter cold is a possible external time cue that induces the dissociation of the complex, which in turn results in the timer activation of EA4. We refer to EA4 as a time interval measuring enzyme, TIME.
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