Molecular genetic basis of plant sensations to the diurnal environment

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Plant growth and development requires robust detection of the diurnal environment. This occurs through a coupling mechanism of light detection to the circadian clock. We recently described the genetic loci that make the core of the oscillator. From this, we propose to further define the placement of additional circadian loci within the oscillator network, and to start to define the biochemical modes of action of these gene products. For this, we will test the hypothesis that a complex of ELF3 / ELF4 interacts with a photoreceptor and a transcription factor to mediate activation of clock genes; this is the dusk arm of the clock. In parallel, we will test if phosphorylation of TIC by AKIN10 directs protein stability of a coreclock protein; this is the dawn arm of the clock. These efforts integrate at a systems level through analyses of recently performed microarrays at the morning and dawn phases, and through the development of a revolutionary imaging technique that will describe when proteins interact within a living cell. The combined efforts of this proposal should radically elevate our mechanistic understanding of the plant circadian clock as it operates under natural diurnal conditions.