Osmotic stress at the barley root affects expression of circadian clock genes in the shoot

The circadian clock is an important timing system that controls physiological responses to abiotic stresses in plants. However, there is little information on the effects of the clock on stress adaptation in important crops, like barley. In addition, we do not know how osmotic stress perceived at the roots affect the shoot circadian clock. Barley genotypes, carrying natural variation at the photoperiod response and clock genes Ppd‐H1 and HvELF3, were grown under control and osmotic stress conditions to record changes in the diurnal expression of clock and stress‐response genes and in physiological traits. Variation at HvELF3 affected the expression phase and shape of clock and stress‐response genes, while variation at Ppd‐H1 only affected the expression levels of stress genes. Osmotic stress up‐regulated expression of clock and stress‐response genes and advanced their expression peaks. Clock genes controlled the expression of stress‐response genes, but had minor effects on gas exchange and leaf transpiration. This study demonstrated that osmotic stress at the barley root altered clock gene expression in the shoot and acted as a spatial input signal into the clock. Unlike in Arabidopsis, barley primary assimilation was less controlled by the clock and more responsive to environmental perturbations, such as osmotic stress.     

Circadian Rhythms of Leaf and Stomatal Movements in Gymnosperm Species

It is generally accepted that various physiological, morphological and gene expression phenomena are under the control of a circadian clock, and that this time keeping mechanism is universally present. Although such endogenously regulated phenomena have first been documented in plants more than 250 years ago and much work has been accumulated particularly in the past 70 years, it was not obvious from the literature whether such time keeping mechanisms exist in gymnosperms. Two prominent parameters were investigated in several gymnosperm species which have been demonstrated to be under the control of a circadian clock in many plants: (i) leaf movement and (ii) stomata movement. In young plants of Pinus sylvestris, Picea abies, Taxus baccata, Araucaria angustifolia, Araucaria heterophylla and Ginkgo biloba leaf oscillations could be recorded for about 5 days. However, compared to angiosperm plants, the amplitude was small. The period length under free running conditions (constant temperature and continuous light) was characteristic for the species. Stomatal movement was observed in Ginkgo biloba leaves by electron microscopy. Stomata were open at noon and closed at midnight under normal day/night conditions (LD) as well as under constant light conditions (LL), indicating that stomatal aperture is under circadian control in the gymnosperm Ginkgo biloba. Online recordings of stomata conductance however, exhibited diurnal but not circadian oscillations of net CO₂-exchange in G. biloba leaves. Our results show that a circadian clock controls leaf and stomatal movements in gymnosperm species indicating that endogenous time keeping mechanisms are present.     

The regulatory network mediated by circadian clock genes is related to heterosis in rice

Exploitation of heterosis in rice(Oryza sativa L.) has contributed greatly to global food security.In this study,we generated three sets of reciprocal F1 hybrids of indica and japonica subspecies to evaluate the relationship between yield heterosis and the circadian clock.There were no differences in trait performance or heterosis between the reciprocal hybrids,indicating no maternal effects on heterosis.The indica-indica and indica-japonica reciprocal F1 hybrids exhibited pronounced heterosis for chlorophyll and starch content in leaves and for grain yield/biomass.In contrast,the japonica-japonica F1 hybrids showed low heterosis.The three circadian clock genes investigated expressed in an above-high-parent pattern(AHP)at seedling stage in all the hybrids.The five genes downstream of the circadian clock,and involved in chlorophyll and starch metabolic pathways,were expressed in AHP in hybrids with strong better-parent heterosis(BPH).Similarly,three of these Research Arfive genes in the japonica-japonica F1 hybrids showing low BPH were expressed in positive overdominance,but the other two genes were expressed in additive or negative overdominance.These results indicated that the expression patterns of circadian clock genes and their downstream genes are associated with heterosis,which suggests that the circadian rhythm pathway may be related to heterosis in rice.     

干旱对水稻生物钟基因和干旱胁迫响应基因每日节律性变化的影响

内源生物钟的节律运动不仅调控植物的生长发育,而且在调控植物响应和适应环境过程中发挥重要的作用。为了解水稻(Oryza sativa L.)干旱胁迫响应基因和生物钟基因在干旱条件下每日表达变化情况,本文利用实时荧光定量PCR方法研究旱稻品种IRAT109在干旱胁迫下相关基因的表达变化。结果表明,干旱胁迫导致早晨生物钟基因OsPRRs、OsLHY和OsZTL1的表达量显著下降,振幅减弱;同时导致夜晚生物钟基因OsTOC1、OsGI和OsELF3整体表达量升高,振幅增强,但对OsFKF1基因影响不大。同样,大部分水稻干旱胁迫响应基因在干旱胁迫后整体表达量显著升高,但OsDST基因表达量下降;同时大部分抗逆基因周期性表达被扰乱,但OsCIPK12、OsCDPK7和OsDREB1A依然保持24 h内震荡。本研究结果表明干旱胁迫能影响生物钟元件的基因表达,这种互相影响改变了部分基因每日的震荡变化。