TIME for COFFEE is an essential component in the maintenance of metabolic homeostasis in Arabidopsis thaliana

A. Sanchez-Villarreal, J. Shin, N. Bujdoso, T. Obata, U. Neumann, S.-X. Du, Z. Ding, A.M. Davis, T. Shindo, E. Schmelzer, R. Sulpice, A. Nunes-Nesi, M. Stitt, A.R. Fernie, S.J. Davis

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Plants often respond to environmental changes by reprogramming metabolic and stress-associated pathways. Homeostatic integration of signaling is a central requirement for ensuring metabolic stability in living organisms. Under diurnal conditions, properly timed rhythmic metabolism provides fitness benefits to plants. TIME FOR COFFEE (TIC) is a circadian regulator known to be involved in clock resetting at dawn. Here we explored the mechanism of influence of TIC in plant growth and development, as initiated by a microarray analysis. This global profiling showed that a loss of TIC function causes a major reprogramming of gene expression that predicts numerous developmental, metabolic, and stress-related phenotypes. This led us to demonstrate that this mutant exhibits late flowering, a plastochron defect, and diverse anatomical phenotypes. We further observed a starch-excess phenotype and altered soluble carbohydrate levels. tic exhibited hypersensitivity to oxidative stress and abscisic acid, and this was associated with a striking resistance to drought. These phenotypes were connected to an increase in total glutathione levels that correlated with a readjustment of amino acids and polyamine pools. By comparatively analyzing our transcriptomic and metabolomic data, we concluded that TIC is a central element in plant homeostasis that integrates and coordinates developmental, metabolic, and environmental signals.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)188-200
JournalThe Plant journal
Volume76
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2013

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