MCA-PGR: Cycling below-ground: Circadian regulation in wild and domesticated potato

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The circadian clock allows organisms to adjust their physiology to daily light/dark cycles. In humans, jet lag and poor health associated with shift work are due to the desynchronization of our body's circadian clock with the current environmental cycle. In plants, the circadian clock regulates a wide array of processes ranging from photosynthesis to stress responses. Moreover, the circadian clock enables plants to measure day length, and therefore, anticipate seasonal changes, which vary depending on the latitude. With changes in global climate, growth of crops at more northern and cooler latitudes will require adaptation to altered daylengths. Circadian clocks generate oscillations with a period of about, but not exactly, 24h. Natural variation in this endogenous circadian period has been measured in animals, including humans, and plants. Potato displays natural variation of circadian period and changes in this period have been linked by the PI’s to the process of potato domestication. The project supported by this award will investigate the role of the circadian period in the optimization of potato growth under different daylengths. Moreover, this project will also impact future generations of science teachers. School teachers are at the frontline of improving public scientific literacy and this project will not only train pre-service science educators on science practices and science teaching but also investigate the role research experiences in teacher training.The broad objective of this project is to understand how circadian rhythms contribute to the development of heterotrophic organs and adaptation to different photoperiods using potato as a model. This work will define the circadian and photoperiod regulatory gene networks in potato and their association with physiological traits; identify loci involved in circadian rhythm variation using a diversity panel of wild potato species that spans geographic diversity; and employ functional genomics approaches to characterize the role of circadian clock-associated loci in potato growth and development.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.