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Silencing Nicotiana attenuata LHY and ZTL alters circadian rhythms in flowers
Author(s) -
Yon Felipe,
Joo Youngsung,
Cortés Llorca Lucas,
Rothe Eva,
Baldwin Ian T.,
Kim SangGyu
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/nph.13681
Subject(s) - circadian clock , biology , circadian rhythm , photoperiodism , botany , oscillating gene , clock , microbiology and biotechnology , neuroscience
Summary The rhythmic opening/closing and volatile emissions of flowers are known to attract pollinators at specific times. That these rhythms are maintained under constant light or dark conditions suggests a circadian clock involvement. Although a forward and reverse genetic approach has led to the identification of core circadian clock components in Arabidopsis thaliana , the involvement of these clock components in floral rhythms has remained untested, probably because of the weak diurnal rhythms in A. thaliana flowers. Here, we addressed the role of these core clock components in the flowers of the wild tobacco Nicotiana attenuata , whose flowers open at night, emit benzyl acetone ( BA ) scents and move vertically through a 140° arc. We first measured N. attenuata floral rhythms under constant light conditions. The results suggest that the circadian clock controls flower opening, BA emission and pedicel movement, but not flower closing. We generated transgenic N. attenuata lines silenced in the homologous genes of Arabidopsis LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL ( LHY ) and ZEITLUPE ( ZTL ), which are known to be core clock components. Silencing Na LHY and Na ZTL strongly altered floral rhythms in different ways, indicating that conserved clock components in N. attenuata coordinate these floral rhythms.