Interference of skeleton photoperiod in circadian clock and photosynthetic efficiency of tea plant: in-depth analysis of mathematical model

Abstract

The circadian system of plants is a complex physiological mechanism, a biological process in which plants can adjust themselves according to the day and night cycle. To understand the effects of different photoperiods on the biological clock of tea plants, we analyzed the expression levels of core clock genes (CCA1, PRR9, TOC1, ELF4 ) and photosynthesis-related genes (Lhcb, RbcS, atpA ) under normal light (light/dark = 12 h/12 h, 12L12D) and took the cost function defined by cycle and phase errors as the basic model parameter. In the continuous light environment (24 h light, 24L), the peak activity and cycle of key genes that control the biological clock and photosynthesis were delayed by 1-2 h. Under a skeleton photoperiod (6L6D, 3L3D), the expression profiles of clock genes and photosynthesis-related genes in tea plants were changed and stomatal opening showed a circadian rhythm. These observations suggest that a skeleton photoperiod may have an effect on the circadian rhythm, photosynthetic efficiency and stomatal regulation of tea plants. Our study and model analyzed the components of circadian rhythms under different photoperiodic pathways, and also revealed the underlying mechanisms of circadian regulation of photosynthesis in tea plants.

Acknowledgements

The research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31870681), the Provincial Policy Guidance Program North Jiangsu Science and Technology Special Project (SZ-LYG202126), Collection and Creation of Horticultural Crop Germplasm Resources of Jiangsu (JSFEM-202212), and the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions Project (PAPD).

Author contributions

J.Z., Z.H.H., and A.S.X. conceived and designed the experiments. Z.H.H., T.H., N.Z., C.C., M.Z.S., K.X.Y., N.Y., and Y.C. performed the experiments. Z.H.H., T.H., J.P.T., and H.L. analyzed the data. J.Z. contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools. Z.H.H. wrote the paper. J.Z., X.H.L., X.C., X.Y., and A.S.X. revised the paper. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Date availability

Data are available in figures of the article and its supplementary materials.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Compliance with ethics requirement

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects.

Supplementary data

Supplementary data are available at Horticulture Research online.

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