Work

TOC1–PIF4 interaction mediates the circadian gating of thermoresponsive growth in Arabidopsis

Year: 2016

Type: article

Abstract: Arabidopsis adapts to elevated temperature by promoting stem elongation and hyponastic growth through a temperature-responsive transcription factor PIF4. Here we show that the evening-expressed clock component TOC1 interacts with and inactivates PIF4, thereby suppressing thermoresponsive growth in the evening. We find that the expression of PIF4 target genes show circadian rhythms of thermosensitivity, with minimum responsiveness in the evening when TOC1 level is high. Loss of function of TOC1 and its close homologue PRR5 restores thermosensitivity in the evening, whereas TOC1 overexpression causes thermo insensitivity, demonstrating that TOC1 mediates the evening-specific inhibition of thermoresponses. We further show that PIF4 is required for thermoadaptation mediated by moderately elevated temperature. Our results demonstrate that the interaction between TOC1 and PIF4 mediates the circadian gating of thermoresponsive growth, which may serve to increase fitness by matching thermoresponsiveness with the day-night cycles of fluctuating temperature and light conditions.

Source: Nature Communications

DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13692

Authors: Jia-Ying Zhu, Eunkyoo Oh, Tina Wang, Zhi-Yong Wang

Institutions: Carnegie Institution for Science, Carnegie Department of Plant Biology, Chonnam National University

Language: English

Topic: Light effects on plants

Subfield: Plant Science

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $6,990