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Modelling the widespread effects of TOC1 signalling on the plant circadian clock and its outputs.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:24-hour biological clocks are intimately connected to the cellular signalling network, which complicates the analysis of clock mechanisms. The transcriptional regulator TOC1 (TIMING OF CAB EXPRESSION 1) is a founding component of the gene circuit in the plant circadian clock. Recent results show that TOC1 suppresses transcription of multiple target genes within the clock circuit, far beyond its previously-described regulation of the morning transcription factors LHY (LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL) and CCA1 (CIRCADIAN CLOCK ASSOCIATED 1). It is unclear how this pervasive effect of TOC1 affects the dynamics of the clock and its outputs. TOC1 also appears to function in a nested feedback loop that includes signalling by the plant hormone Abscisic Acid (ABA), which is upregulated by abiotic stresses, such as drought. ABA treatments both alter TOC1 levels and affect the clock's timing behaviour. Conversely, the clock rhythmically modulates physiological processes induced by ABA, such as the closing of stomata in the leaf epidermis. In order to understand the dynamics of the clock and its outputs under changing environmental conditions, the reciprocal interactions between the clock and other signalling pathways must be integrated. RESULTS:We extended the mathematical model of the plant clock gene circuit by incorporating the repression of multiple clock genes by TOC1, observed experimentally. The revised model more accurately matches the data on the clock's molecular profiles and timing behaviour, explaining the clock's responses in TOC1 over-expression and toc1 mutant plants. A simplified representation of ABA signalling allowed us to investigate the interactions of ABA and circadian pathways. Increased ABA levels lengthen the free-running period of the clock, consistent with the experimental data. Adding stomatal closure to the model, as a key ABA- and clock-regulated downstream process allowed to describe TOC1 effects on the rhythmic gating of stomatal closure. CONCLUSIONS:The integrated model of the circadian clock circuit and ABA-regulated environmental sensing allowed us to explain multiple experimental observations on the timing and stomatal responses to genetic and environmental perturbations. These results crystallise a new role of TOC1 as an environmental sensor, which both affects the pace of the central oscillator and modulates the kinetics of downstream processes.

SUBMITTER: Pokhilko A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3614443 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Modelling the widespread effects of TOC1 signalling on the plant circadian clock and its outputs.

Pokhilko Alexandra A Mas Paloma P Millar Andrew J AJ

BMC systems biology 20130319

<h4>Background</h4>24-hour biological clocks are intimately connected to the cellular signalling network, which complicates the analysis of clock mechanisms. The transcriptional regulator TOC1 (TIMING OF CAB EXPRESSION 1) is a founding component of the gene circuit in the plant circadian clock. Recent results show that TOC1 suppresses transcription of multiple target genes within the clock circuit, far beyond its previously-described regulation of the morning transcription factors LHY (LATE ELON ...[more]

PMID: 23506153

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Project description:BACKGROUND: Recent mapping of eukaryotic transcriptomes and spliceomes using massively parallel RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) has revealed that the extent of alternative splicing has been considerably underestimated. Evidence also suggests that many pre-mRNAs undergo unproductive alternative splicing resulting in incorporation of in-frame premature termination codons (PTCs). The destinies and potential functions of the PTC-harboring mRNAs remain poorly understood. Unproductive alternative splicing in circadian clock genes presents a special case study because the daily oscillations of protein expression levels require rapid and steep adjustments in mRNA levels. RESULTS: We conducted a systematic survey of alternative splicing of plant circadian clock genes using RNA-seq and found that many Arabidopsis thaliana circadian clock-associated genes are alternatively spliced. Results were confirmed using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR), and/or Sanger sequencing. Intron retention events were frequently observed in mRNAs of the CCA1/LHY-like subfamily of MYB transcription factors. In contrast, the REVEILLE2 (RVE2) transcript was alternatively spliced via inclusion of a "poison cassette exon" (PCE). The PCE type events introducing in-frame PTCs are conserved in some mammalian and plant serine/arginine-rich splicing factors. For some circadian genes such as CCA1 the ratio of the productive isoform (i.e., a representative splice variant encoding the full-length protein) to its PTC counterpart shifted sharply under specific environmental stress conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that unproductive alternative splicing is a widespread phenomenon among plant circadian clock genes that frequently generates mRNA isoforms harboring in-frame PTCs. Because LHY and CCA1 are core components of the plant central circadian oscillator, the conservation of alternatively spliced variants between CCA1 and LHY and for CCA1 across phyla [2] indicates a potential role of nonsense transcripts in regulation of circadian rhythms. Most of the alternatively spliced isoforms harbor in-frame PTCs that arise from full or partial intron retention events. However, a PTC in the RVE2 transcript is introduced through a PCE event. The conservation of AS events and modulation of the relative abundance of nonsense isoforms by environmental and diurnal conditions suggests possible regulatory roles for these alternatively spliced transcripts in circadian clock function. The temperature-dependent expression of the PTC transcripts among members of CCA1/LHY subfamily indicates that alternative splicing may be involved in regulation of the clock temperature compensation mechanism.

Dataset Information

Modelling the widespread effects of TOC1 signalling on the plant circadian clock and its outputs.

Publications

Modelling the widespread effects of TOC1 signalling on the plant circadian clock and its outputs.

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