Circadian Rhythms and Growth in Challenging Conditions

In plants, the circadian system controls numerous processes including gene expression photosynthesis, photoprotection, stomatal opening, and photoperiodic development. It has been suggested that modifying circadian rhythms may be a means to manipulate crops to develop “improved” plants for agriculture. However, there is very little information on how the clock influences the performance of crop plants. We have developed non-invasive, high-throughput platforms, based on prompt chlorophyll fluorescence (F) and plant temperature, to analyse circadian rhythms. Using these platforms we have analyzed circadian rhythms in populations of wild barley from a widely different eco-geographical locations in the Southern Levant part of the Fertile Crescent, an area with a high proportion of the total genetic variation of wild barley. Our results show that there is variability for circadian traits in the wild barley lines that are correlated with environmental conditions.  We are currently examining the contribution of the circadian system to plant vitality under stressful conditions.

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