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Does the core circadian clock in the moss Physcomitrella patens (Bryophyta) comprise a single loop?

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The endogenous circadian clock allows the organism to synchronize processes both to daily and seasonal changes. In plants, many metabolic processes such as photosynthesis, as well as photoperiodic responses, are under the control of a circadian clock. Comparative studies with the moss Physcomitrella patens provide the opportunity to study many aspects of land plant evolution. Here we present a comparative overview of clock-associated components and the circadian network in the moss P. patens. RESULTS: The moss P. patens has a set of conserved circadian core components that share genetic relationship and gene expression patterns with clock genes of vascular plants. These genes include Myb-like transcription factors PpCCA1a and PpCCA1b, pseudo-response regulators PpPRR1-4, and regulatory elements PpELF3, PpLUX and possibly PpELF4. However, the moss lacks homologs of AtTOC1, AtGI and the AtZTL-family of genes, which can be found in all vascular plants studied here. These three genes constitute essential components of two of the three integrated feed-back loops in the current model of the Arabidopsis circadian clock mechanism. Consequently, our results suggest instead a single loop circadian clock in the moss. Possibly as a result of this, temperature compensation of core clock gene expression appears to be decreased in P. patens. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first comparative overview of the circadian clock mechanism in a basal land plant, the moss P. patens. Our results indicate that the moss clock mechanism may represent an ancestral state in contrast to the more complex and partly duplicated structure of subsequent land plants. These findings may provide insights into the understanding of the evolution of circadian network topology.

SUBMITTER: Holm K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3017809 | biostudies-other | 2010

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Does the core circadian clock in the moss Physcomitrella patens (Bryophyta) comprise a single loop?

Holm Karl K Källman Thomas T Gyllenstrand Niclas N Hedman Harald H Lagercrantz Ulf U

BMC plant biology 20100615

<h4>Background</h4>The endogenous circadian clock allows the organism to synchronize processes both to daily and seasonal changes. In plants, many metabolic processes such as photosynthesis, as well as photoperiodic responses, are under the control of a circadian clock. Comparative studies with the moss Physcomitrella patens provide the opportunity to study many aspects of land plant evolution. Here we present a comparative overview of clock-associated components and the circadian network in the ...[more]

PMID: 20550695

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Project description:BACKGROUND: Hexokinase catalyzes the phosphorylation of glucose and fructose, but it is also involved in sugar sensing in both fungi and plants. We have previously described two types of hexokinases in the moss Physcomitrella. Type A, exemplified by PpHxk1, the major hexokinase in Physcomitrella, is a soluble protein that localizes to the chloroplast stroma. Type B, exemplified by PpHxk2, has an N-terminal membrane anchor. Both types are found also in vascular plants, and localize to the chloroplast stroma and mitochondrial membranes, respectively. RESULTS: We have now characterized all 11 hexokinase encoding genes in Physcomitrella. Based on their N-terminal sequences and intracellular localizations, three of the encoded proteins are type A hexokinases and four are type B hexokinases. One of the type B hexokinases has a splice variant without a membrane anchor, that localizes to the cytosol and the nucleus. However, we also found two new types of hexokinases with no obvious orthologs in vascular plants. Type C, encoded by a single gene, has neither transit peptide nor membrane anchor, and is found in the cytosol and in the nucleus. Type D hexokinases, encoded by three genes, have membrane anchors and localize to mitochondrial membranes, but their sequences differ from those of the type B hexokinases. Interestingly, all moss hexokinases are more similar to each other in overall sequence than to hexokinases from other plants, even though characteristic sequence motifs such as the membrane anchor of the type B hexokinases are highly conserved between moss and vascular plants, indicating a common origin for hexokinases of the same type. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the hexokinase gene family is more diverse in Physcomitrella, encoding two additional types of hexokinases that are absent in vascular plants. In particular, the presence of a cytosolic and nuclear hexokinase (type C) sets Physcomitrella apart from vascular plants, and instead resembles yeast, where all hexokinases localize to the cytosol. The fact that all moss hexokinases are more similar to each other than to hexokinases from vascular plants, even though both type A and type B hexokinases are present in all plants, further suggests that the hexokinase gene family in Physcomitrella has undergone concerted evolution.

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Does the core circadian clock in the moss Physcomitrella patens (Bryophyta) comprise a single loop?

Publications

Does the core circadian clock in the moss Physcomitrella patens (Bryophyta) comprise a single loop?

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