Novel strategies for efficient selection of lines with synchronised development by using properties of the circadian clock

生物钟有助于检测白天长度的变化，这是季节的一种指示。反过来，这控制着开花的时间和其他发育特征。然而，我们不知道生物钟在多大程度上影响植物发育的同步性。我们的大部分食物浪费来自农民处理不符合消费者驱动的食物标准的蔬菜和水果（蔬菜太大/太小;水果太熟/不够熟等）。如果发育更加同步，那么在收获期达到这些标准的植物比例就会更高，从而提高产量。同步开花对于提高授粉效率也很重要。在本研究中，我们将研究生物钟如何协调对日长变化的响应，以及这如何影响开花时间的同步性。此外，我们将试行两种策略，利用生物钟和同步发育之间的关联来提高植物选择的效率（例如在育种过程中）。首先，我们将建立一个统计模型来预测开花时间的同步性，基于在幼苗中的生物钟标记基因的基因表达。这将被用于预过滤植物的品系，这样只有最有前途的品系才需要生长到成年。其次，我们将确定与生物钟特性、光周期转换反应和发育同步性相关的遗传位点。同时，我们还将培育出同步开花的拟南芥新品系，这将为进一步研究植物发育过程同步化的遗传起源提供宝贵的资源。

The circadian clock helps detect changes in day length, an indication of the season. In turn, this controls the timing of flowering and other developmental traits. However, we do not know the extent to which the circadian clock influences how well-synchronised plant development is. Much of our food waste comes from farmers disposing of vegetables and fruits that do not meet consumer-driven food standards (vegetable is too big/small; fruit is too ripe/not ripe enough, etc). If development was more synchronised, a higher proportion of plants would meet these standards at harvesttime, leading to improved yields. Synchronised flowering is also important for improving the efficiency of pollination.In this proposal, we will investigate how the circadian clock coordinates the response to changes in day length, and how this influences the synchronicity of flowering time. Additionally, we will pilot two strategies for utilising the associations between the circadian clock and synchronised development to improve the efficiency of plant selection (such as during breeding). First, we will build a statistical model to predict flowering time synchronicity, based on the gene expression of a marker gene for the circadian clock in seedlings. This will be used to pre-filter lines of plants, so that only the most promising lines will need to be grown to adulthood. Secondly, we will identify genetic loci that are associated with properties of the circadian clock, response to photoperiod transition, and developmental synchrony. Genetic loci involved in all three processes will be good genetic markers for selection of synchronous lines of plants, because we will have an idea why these genetic loci might be associated with developmental synchrony.Finally, we will develop new Arabidopsis lines that display synchronised flowering, which will be a valuable resource for future research on the genetic origins of synchronisation of developmental processes.