Superoxide is promoted by sucrose and affects amplitude of circadian rhythms in the evening
Ángela Román, Xiang Li, Dongjing Deng, John W. Davey, Sally James, Ian A. Graham, Michael J. Haydon
Abstract
Significance Distinguishing the effects of light and sugars in photoautotrophic cells is challenging. The circadian system is a regulatory network that integrates light and metabolic signals and controls rhythmic physiology and growth. Our experimental approach has defined a light-independent, sugar-regulated transcriptome in Arabidopsis and revealed reactive oxygen species (ROS) as a prominent feature. ROS are byproducts of photosynthetic metabolism and oscillate with circadian rhythms but have not previously been demonstrated as inputs to the plant circadian oscillator. Our data suggest a role for superoxide as a rhythmic sugar signal which acts in the evening and affects circadian gene expression and growth.