Bioorganic studies on nyctinastic leaf-movement controlled by a biological clock

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Most leguminous plants close their leaves in the evening, as if to sleep, and open them early in the morning. This circadian rhythm is known to be controlled by a biological clock of such plants. Extensive studies on some nyctinastic plants led to the isolation of a variety of leaf-closing and leaf-opening substances. And we found that a biological clock regulates the balance of concentration between leaf-opening and -closing substances in the plant body through the activation of β-glucosidase and generates the circadian rhythm of leaf-movement (Figure). Also, we will show two examples of our attempts for the bioorganic studies of plant leaf-movement using synthetic probe compounds. One is the direct observation of the target cell for leaf-movement factor by fluorescence-labeled probe compounds and the other is the chemical study on the historical problem, "Why does the plant sleep?" by using synthetic non-natural natural products that inhibit the leaf closure.