Molecular basis of plant tissue-specific responses of circadian clocks to environmental stimuli

• Project/Area Number: 25650097
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Plant molecular biology/Plant physiology
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: Endo Motomu 京都大学, 生命科学研究科, 准教授 (80551499)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2015)
• Budget Amount: ¥4,030,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥930,000); Fiscal Year 2015: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000); Fiscal Year 2014: ¥1,690,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥390,000); Fiscal Year 2013: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000)
• Keywords: シロイヌナズナ / 植物 / 概日時計 / 温度 / 組織特異性 / 維管束

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The circadian clock increases organisms’ fitness by regulating physiological responses. In Arabidopsis, tissue-specific circadian clock functions have emerged, and the importance of the vasculature clock for photoperiodic flowering has been demonstrated. We then studied the involvement of tissue-specific circadian clock regulation of flowering and cell elongation under different photoperiods and temperatures. We found that the circadian clock in vascular phloem companion cells is essential for photoperiodic flowering regulation; by contrast, the epidermis has a crucial impact on ambient temperature-dependent cell elongation. Thus, there are clear assignments of roles among circadian clocks in each tissue. Our results reveal that, unlike the more centralized circadian clock in mammals, the plant circadian clock is decentralized, where each tissue specifically processes individual environmental cues and regulates individual physiological responses.

Research Products

• [Int'l Joint Research] University of South California(米国)
• [Journal Article] Photoperiod sensitivity of the Arabidopsis circadian clock is tissue-specific. (2015)
  • Author(s): Shimizu, H., Araki, T. and Endo, M.
  • Journal Title: Plant Signaling & Behavior Volume: 10 Issue: 6 Pages: e1010933-e1010933
  • DOI: 10.1080/15592324.2015.1010933
  • NAID: 120005689209
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access
• [Journal Article] Decentralized circadian clocks process thermal and photoperiodic cues in specific tissues. (2015)
  • Author(s): Shimizu, H., Katayama, K., Koto, T., Torii, K., Araki, T., Endo, M.
  • Journal Title: Nature Plants Volume: 1 Issue: 11 Pages: 15163-15163
  • DOI: 10.1038/nplants.2015.163
  • NAID: 120005669301
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access
• [Journal Article] Tissue-specific clocks in Arabidopsis show asymmetric coupling (2014)
  • Author(s): Endo, M., Shimizu, H., Nohales, M.A., Araki, T., and Kay, S.A.
  • Journal Title: Nature Volume: 515 Issue: 7527 Pages: 419-422
  • DOI: 10.1038/nature13919
  • NAID: 120005477723
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Presentation] Arabidopsis has a central dominant clock in the vasculature (2014)
  • Author(s): Motomu Endo
  • Organizer: 第38回 内藤コンファレンス
  • Place of Presentation: シャトレーゼ ガトーキングダム サッポロ
  • Year and Date: 2014-10-07 – 2014-10-10
• [Presentation] Tissue-specific regulation of circadian clock in plants
  • Author(s): Motomu Endo
  • Organizer: 11th Kyoto University –National Taiwan University Symposium
  • Place of Presentation: 京都大学
• [Presentation] 維管束の概日時計は主要時計としての性質を持つ
  • Author(s): 遠藤 求、荒木 崇
  • Organizer: 日本植物学会第77回大会
  • Place of Presentation: 北海道大学
• [Presentation] 維管束の概日時計は主要時計としての性質を持つ
  • Author(s): 遠藤 求、清水 華子、Brenda Chow、Steve Kay、荒木 崇
  • Organizer: 第２０回日本時間生物学会学術大会
  • Place of Presentation: 近畿大学
• [Presentation] 位管速の概日時計は主要時計としての性質を持つ
  • Author(s): 遠藤求，清水華子，Brenda Chow，SteveKay，荒木崇
  • Organizer: 第55回植物生理学会
  • Place of Presentation: 富山大学