Nicotiana attenuata flowers, diurnally open,emit scents and move vertically to interact with nocturnal hawkmoth and day-active hummingbird pollinators. To examine the fitness consequences of these floral rhythms, we c...Nicotiana attenuata flowers, diurnally open,emit scents and move vertically to interact with nocturnal hawkmoth and day-active hummingbird pollinators. To examine the fitness consequences of these floral rhythms, we conducted pollination trials in the plant’s native habitat with phase-shifted flowers of plants silenced in circadian clock genes. The results revealed that some pollination benefits observed under glasshouse conditions were not reproduced under natural field conditions. Floral arrhythmicity increased pollination success by hummingbirds, while reducing those by hawkmoths in the field. Thus, floral circadian rhythms may influence a plant’s fitness by filtering pollinators leading to altered seed set from outcrossed pollen.展开更多
The circadian clock is known to increase plant growth and fitness, and is thought to prepare plants for photosynthesis at dawn and dusk; whether this happens in nature was unknown. We transformed the native tobacco, N...The circadian clock is known to increase plant growth and fitness, and is thought to prepare plants for photosynthesis at dawn and dusk; whether this happens in nature was unknown. We transformed the native tobacco, Nicotiana attenuata to silence two core clock components, NaLHY (irLHY) and NaTOC1 (irTOC1). We characterized growth and light- and dark-adapted photosynthetic rates (Ac) throughout a 24 h clay in empty vector-transformed (EV), irLHY, and irTOC1 plants in the field, and in NaPhyA-and NaPhyB1-silenced plants in the glasshouse. The growth rates of irLHY plants were lower than those of EV plants in the field. While irLHY plants reduced Ac earlier at dusk, no differences between irLHY and EV plants were observed at dawn in the field, irLHY, but not EV plants, responded to light in the night by rapidly increasing Ac. Under controlled conditions, EV plants rapidly increased Ac in the day compared to dark-adapted plants at night; irLHY plants lost these time-dependent responses. The role of NaLHY in gating photosynthesis is independent of the light-depen- dent reactions and red light perceived by NaPhyA, but not NaPhyB1. In summary, the circadian clock allows plants not to respond photosynthetically to light at night by anticipating and gating red light-mediated in native tobacco.展开更多
Ecological interactions between flowers and pollinators are all about timing. Flower opening/closing and scent emissions are largely synchronized with pollinator activity, and a circadian clock regulates these rhythms...Ecological interactions between flowers and pollinators are all about timing. Flower opening/closing and scent emissions are largely synchronized with pollinator activity, and a circadian clock regulates these rhythms. However, whether the circadian clock increases a plant's reproductive success by regulating these floral rhythms remains untested. Flowers of Nicotiana attenuata, a wild tobacco, diurnally and rhythmically open, emit scent and move vertically through a 140° arc to interact with nocturnal hawkmoths. We tethered flowers to evaluate the importanceof flower positions for Manduca flower position dramatically sexta-mediated pollinations; nfluenced pollination. We examined the pollination success of phase-shifted flowers, silenced in circadian clock genes, NaZTL, NaLHY, and NaTOCI, by RNAi. Circadian rhythms in N. attenuata flowers are responsible for altered seed set from outcrossed pollen.展开更多
基金supported by European Research Council advanced grant Clockwork Green(No.293926)to I.T.B.the Global Research Lab program(2012055546)from South Koreathe Max Planck Society
文摘Nicotiana attenuata flowers, diurnally open,emit scents and move vertically to interact with nocturnal hawkmoth and day-active hummingbird pollinators. To examine the fitness consequences of these floral rhythms, we conducted pollination trials in the plant’s native habitat with phase-shifted flowers of plants silenced in circadian clock genes. The results revealed that some pollination benefits observed under glasshouse conditions were not reproduced under natural field conditions. Floral arrhythmicity increased pollination success by hummingbirds, while reducing those by hawkmoths in the field. Thus, floral circadian rhythms may influence a plant’s fitness by filtering pollinators leading to altered seed set from outcrossed pollen.
基金supported by European Research Council advanced grant Clockwork Green(No. 293926) to I.T.B.the Global Research Lab program(2012055546) from the National Research Foundation of Korea+1 种基金Human Frontier Science Program(RGP0002/2012)the Max Planck Society
文摘The circadian clock is known to increase plant growth and fitness, and is thought to prepare plants for photosynthesis at dawn and dusk; whether this happens in nature was unknown. We transformed the native tobacco, Nicotiana attenuata to silence two core clock components, NaLHY (irLHY) and NaTOC1 (irTOC1). We characterized growth and light- and dark-adapted photosynthetic rates (Ac) throughout a 24 h clay in empty vector-transformed (EV), irLHY, and irTOC1 plants in the field, and in NaPhyA-and NaPhyB1-silenced plants in the glasshouse. The growth rates of irLHY plants were lower than those of EV plants in the field. While irLHY plants reduced Ac earlier at dusk, no differences between irLHY and EV plants were observed at dawn in the field, irLHY, but not EV plants, responded to light in the night by rapidly increasing Ac. Under controlled conditions, EV plants rapidly increased Ac in the day compared to dark-adapted plants at night; irLHY plants lost these time-dependent responses. The role of NaLHY in gating photosynthesis is independent of the light-depen- dent reactions and red light perceived by NaPhyA, but not NaPhyB1. In summary, the circadian clock allows plants not to respond photosynthetically to light at night by anticipating and gating red light-mediated in native tobacco.
基金supported by European Research Council advanced grant Clockwork Green (No. 293926) to I.T.B.the Global Research Lab program (2012055546) from the National Research Foundation of Korea+1 种基金Institute for Basic Science (IBS-R021-D1)the Max Planck Society
文摘Ecological interactions between flowers and pollinators are all about timing. Flower opening/closing and scent emissions are largely synchronized with pollinator activity, and a circadian clock regulates these rhythms. However, whether the circadian clock increases a plant's reproductive success by regulating these floral rhythms remains untested. Flowers of Nicotiana attenuata, a wild tobacco, diurnally and rhythmically open, emit scent and move vertically through a 140° arc to interact with nocturnal hawkmoths. We tethered flowers to evaluate the importanceof flower positions for Manduca flower position dramatically sexta-mediated pollinations; nfluenced pollination. We examined the pollination success of phase-shifted flowers, silenced in circadian clock genes, NaZTL, NaLHY, and NaTOCI, by RNAi. Circadian rhythms in N. attenuata flowers are responsible for altered seed set from outcrossed pollen.