An overview of natural variation studies in the Arabidopsis thaliana circadian clock

Muhammad Usman Anwer, Seth Jon Davis

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Circadian clocks are ubiquitous mechanisms that provide an adaptive advantage by predicting subsequent environmental changes. In the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis), our understanding of the complex genetic network among clock components has considerably increased during these past years. Modeling has predicted the possibility of additional component to systematically and functionally complete the clock system. Mutagenesis screens have in the past been successfully employed to detect such novel components. With the advancement in sequencing technologies and improvements in statistical approaches, the extensive natural variation present in Arabidopsis accessions has emerged as a powerful alternative in functional gene discovery. In this review article, we review the previous efforts in mapping natural alleles affecting various clock parameters and will discuss further potentials of such natural-variation studies in physiological and ecological contexts.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)422-429
Number of pages8
JournalSeminars in cell & developmental biology
Volume24
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - May 2013

Bibliographical note

Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • Alleles
  • Arabidopsis
  • Arabidopsis Proteins
  • Biological Evolution
  • Chromosome Mapping
  • Circadian Clocks
  • Circadian Rhythm
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
  • Genetic Variation
  • Light
  • Quantitative Trait Loci
  • Signal Transduction

Cite this