Shining a light on the Arabidopsis circadian clock

Jul 22, 2017Plant, cell & environment

Light's influence on the internal clock of the Arabidopsis plant

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Circadian Biology on OpenScience ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Abstract

Light wavelengths, intensities, and durations play a crucial role in synchronizing the circadian clock.

The circadian clock ensures optimal growth by responding to external environmental conditions.
Photoreceptors, including cryptochromes and phytochromes, detect various light signals and relay them to the central circadian oscillator.
Different wavelengths of light, such as blue, red, and far-red, are processed by the clock-setting mechanism.
Intermediate proteins like Phytochrome interacting factors, constitutive photomorphogenic 1, and EARLY FLOWERING 3 are involved in the signaling pathways activated by photoreceptors.
The clock generates rhythms of photoreceptor action, affecting how light responses are gated.

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The circadian clock provides essential timing information to ensure optimal growth to prevailing external environmental conditions. A major time-setting mechanism (zeitgeber) in clock synchronization is light. Differing light wavelengths, intensities, and photoperiodic duration are processed for the clock-setting mechanism. Many studies on light-input pathways to the clock have focused on Arabidopsis thaliana. Photoreceptors are specific chromic proteins that detect light signals and transmit this information to the central circadian oscillator through a number of different signalling mechanisms. The most well-characterized clock-mediating photoreceptors are cryptochromes and phytochromes, detecting blue, red, and far-red wavelengths of light. Ultraviolet and shaded light are also processed signals to the oscillator. Notably, the clock reciprocally generates rhythms of photoreceptor action leading to so-called gating of light responses. Intermediate proteins, such as Phytochrome interacting factors (PIFs), constitutive photomorphogenic 1 (COP1) and EARLY FLOWERING 3 (ELF3), have been established in signalling pathways downstream of photoreceptor activation. However, the precise details for these signalling mechanisms are not fully established. This review highlights both historical and recent efforts made to understand overall light input to the oscillator, first looking at how each wavelength of light is detected, this is then related to known input mechanisms and their interactions.

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Shining a light on the Arabidopsis circadian clock

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