RESUMO

Adjustment to energy starvation is crucial to ensure growth and survival. In Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis), this process relies in part on the phosphorylation of the circadian clock regulator bZIP63 by SUCROSE non-fermenting RELATED KINASE1 (SnRK1), a key mediator of responses to low energy. We investigated the effects of mutations in bZIP63 on plant carbon (C) metabolism and growth. Results from phenotypic, transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis of bZIP63 mutants prompted us to investigate the starch accumulation pattern and the expression of genes involved in starch degradation and in the circadian oscillator. bZIP63 mutation impairs growth under light-dark cycles, but not under constant light. The reduced growth likely results from the accentuated C depletion towards the end of the night, which is caused by the accelerated starch degradation of bZIP63 mutants. The diel expression pattern of bZIP63 is dictated by both the circadian clock and energy levels, which could determine the changes in the circadian expression of clock and starch metabolic genes observed in bZIP63 mutants. We conclude that bZIP63 composes a regulatory interface between the metabolic and circadian control of starch breakdown to optimize C usage and plant growth.

Assuntos

Proteínas de Arabidopsis , Arabidopsis , Relógios Circadianos , Arabidopsis/genética , Arabidopsis/metabolismo , Proteínas de Arabidopsis/genética , Proteínas de Arabidopsis/metabolismo , Fatores de Transcrição de Zíper de Leucina Básica/genética , Fatores de Transcrição de Zíper de Leucina Básica/metabolismo , Relógios Circadianos/genética , Ritmo Circadiano/genética , Regulação da Expressão Gênica de Plantas , Fotoperíodo , Proteínas Serina-Treonina Quinases/metabolismo , Açúcares

RESUMO

Alternative Splicing (AS) is a mechanism that generates different mature transcripts from precursor mRNAs (pre-mRNAs) of the same gene. In plants, a wide range of physiological and metabolic events are related to AS, as well as fast responses to changes in temperature. AS is present in around 60% of intron-containing genes in Arabidopsis, 46% in rice, and 38% in maize and it is widespread among the circadian clock genes. Little is known about how AS influences the circadian clock of C4 plants, like commercial sugarcane, a C4 crop with a complex hybrid genome. This work aims to test if the daily dynamics of AS forms of circadian clock genes are regulated by environmental factors, such as temperature, in the field. A systematic search for AS in five sugarcane clock genes, ScLHY, ScPRR37, ScPRR73, ScPRR95, and ScTOC1 using different organs of sugarcane sampled during winter, with 4 months old plants, and during summer, with 9 months old plants, revealed temperature- and organ-dependent expression of at least one alternatively spliced isoform in all genes. Expression of AS isoforms varied according to the season. Our results suggest that AS events in circadian clock genes are correlated with temperature.