Light-regulated translation mediates gated induction of the Arabidopsis clock protein LHY

LUX ARRHYTHMO encodes a Myb domain protein essential for circadian rhythms

In higher plants, the circadian clock orchestrates fundamental processes such as light signaling and the transition to flowering. We isolated mutants of the circadian clock from an Arabidopsis thaliana mutagenized reporter line by screening for seedlings with long hypocotyl phenotypes and subsequently assaying for abnormal clock-regulated CAB2::LUC expression. This screen identified five mutant alleles of a clock gene, LUX ARRHYTHMO (LUX), that significantly affect amplitude and robustness of rhythms in both constant white light and dark conditions. In addition, the transition from vegetative to floral development is accelerated and hypocotyl elongation is accentuated in these mutants under light:dark cycles. We genetically mapped the mutations by bulk segregant analysis with high-density oligonucleotide array genotyping to a small putative Myb transcription factor related to other clock components and response regulators in Arabidopsis. The negative arm of the Arabidopsis circadian clock, CIRCADIAN CLOCK ASSOCIATED (CCA1) and LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL (LHY), is repressed in the lux mutants, whereas TIMING OF CAB2 EXPRESSION (TOC1) is activated. We demonstrate that CCA1 and LHY bind to the evening element motif in the LUX promoter, which strongly suggests that these proteins repress LUX expression, as they do TOC1. The data are also consistent with LUX being necessary for activation of CCA1 and LHY expression.

Positive and negative factors confer phase-specific circadian regulation of transcription in Arabidopsis

The circadian clock exerts a major influence on transcriptional regulation in plants and other organisms. We have previously identified a motif called the evening element (EE) that is overrepresented in the promoters of evening-phased genes. Here, we demonstrate that multimerized EEs are necessary and sufficient to confer evening-phased circadian regulation. Although flanking sequences are not required for EE function, they can modulate EE activity. One flanking sequence, taken from the PSEUDORESPONSE REGULATOR 9 promoter, itself confers dawn-phased rhythms and has allowed us to define a new clock promoter motif (the morning element [ME]). Scanning mutagenesis reveals that both activators and repressors of gene expression act through the ME and EE. Although our experiments confirm that CIRCADIAN CLOCK ASSOCIATED 1 (CCA1) and LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL (LHY) are likely to act as repressors via the EE, they also show that they have an unexpected positive effect on EE-mediated gene expression as well. We have identified a clock-regulated activity in plant extracts that binds specifically to the EE and has a phase consistent with it being an activator of expression through the EE. This activity is reduced in CCA1/LHY null plants, suggesting it may itself be part of a circadian feedback loop and perhaps explaining the reduction in EE activity in these double mutant plants.

Extension of a genetic network model by iterative experimentation and mathematical analysis

We extend the current model of the plant circadian clock, in order to accommodate new and published data. Throughout our model development we use a global parameter search to ensure that any limitations we find are due to the network architecture and not to our selection of the parameter values, which have not been determined experimentally. Our final model includes two, interlocked loops of gene regulation and is reminiscent of the circuit structures previously identified by experiments on insect and fungal clocks. It is the first Arabidopsis clock model to show such good correspondence to experimental data.

Our interlocked feedback loop model predicts the regulation of two unknown components. Experiments motivated by these predictions identify the GIGANTEA gene as a strong candidate for one component, with an unexpected pattern of light regulation.*

This study involves an iterative approach of mathematical modelling and experiment to develop an accurate mathematical model of the circadian clock in the higher plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Our approach is central to systems biology and should lead to a greater, quantitative understanding of the circadian clock, as well as being more widely relevant to research into genetic networks.

The day–night cycle caused by the Earth's rotation affects most organisms, and has resulted in the evolution of the circadian clock. The circadian clock controls 24-h rhythms in processes from metabolism to behaviour; in higher eukaryotes, the circadian clock controls the rhythmic expression of 5–10% of genes. In plants, the clock controls leaf and petal movements, the opening and closing of stomatal pores, the discharge of floral fragrances and many metabolic activities, especially those associated with photosynthesis.

The relatively small number of components involved in the central circadian network makes it an ideal candidate for mathematical modelling of complex biological regulation. Genetic studies in a variety of model organisms have shown that the circadian rhythm is generated by a central network of between 6 and 12 genes. These genes form feedback loops generating a rhythm in mRNA production. One negative feedback loop in which a gene encodes a protein that, after several hours, turns off transcription is, in principle, capable of creating a circadian rhythm. However, real circadian clocks have proven to be more complicated than this, with interlocked feedback loops. Networks of this complexity are more easily understood through mathematical modelling.

The clock mechanism in the model plant, A. thaliana, was first proposed to comprise a feedback loop in which two partially redundant genes, LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL (LHY) and CIRCADIAN CLOCK ASSOCIATED 1 (CCA1), repress the expression of their activator, TIMING OF CAB EXPRESSION 1 (TOC1). We previously modelled this preliminary network and showed that it was not capable of recreating several important pieces of experimental data (Locke et al, 2005). Here, we extend the LHY/CCA1–TOC1 network in new mathematical models. To check the effects of each addition to the network, the outputs of the extended models are compared to published data and to new experiments.

As is the case for most biological networks, the parameter values in our model, such as the translation rate of TOC1 protein, are unknown. We employ here an optimisation method, which works well with noisy and varied data and allows a global search of parameter space. This should ensure that the limitations we find in our networks are due to the network structure, and not to our parameter choices.

Our final interlocked feedback loop model requires two hypothetical components, genes X and Y (Figure 4), but is the first Arabidopsis clock model to exhibit such a good correspondence with experimental data. The model simulates a residual short-period oscillation in the cca1;lhy mutant, as characterised by our experiments. No single-loop model is able to do this. Our model also matches experimental data under constant light (LL) conditions and correctly senses photoperiod. The model predicts an interlocked feedback loop structure similar to that seen in the circadian clock mechanisms of other organisms.

The interlocked feedback loop model predicts a distinctive pattern of Y mRNA accumulation in the wild type (WT) and in the cca1;lhy double mutant, with Y mRNA levels increasing transiently at dawn. We designed an experiment to identify Y based on this prediction. GIGANTEA (GI) mRNA levels fit very well to our predicted profile for Y (Figure 6), identifying GI as a strong candidate for Y.

The approach described here could act as a template for experimental biologists seeking to extend models of small genetic networks. Our results illustrate the usefulness of mathematical modelling in guiding experiments, even if the models are based on limited data. Our method provides a way of identifying suitable candidate networks and quantifying how these networks better describe a wide variety of experimental measurements. The characteristics of new putative genes are thereby obtained, facilitating the experimental search for new components. To facilitate future experimental design, we provide user-friendly software that is specifically designed for numerical simulation of circadian experiments using models for several species (Brown, 2004b).

*Footnote: Synopsis highlights were added on 5 July 2005.

Circadian clocks involve feedback loops that generate rhythmic expression of key genes. Molecular genetic studies in the higher plant Arabidopsis thaliana have revealed a complex clock network. The first part of the network to be identified, a transcriptional feedback loop comprising TIMING OF CAB EXPRESSION 1 (TOC1), LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL (LHY) and CIRCADIAN CLOCK ASSOCIATED 1 (CCA1), fails to account for significant experimental data. We develop an extended model that is based upon a wider range of data and accurately predicts additional experimental results. The model comprises interlocking feedback loops comparable to those identified experimentally in other circadian systems. We propose that each loop receives input signals from light, and that each loop includes a hypothetical component that had not been explicitly identified. Analysis of the model predicted the properties of these components, including an acute light induction at dawn that is rapidly repressed by LHY and CCA1. We found this unexpected regulation in RNA levels of the evening-expressed gene GIGANTEA (GI), supporting our proposed network and making GI a strong candidate for this component.

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Overlapping and distinct roles of PRR7 and PRR9 in the Arabidopsis circadian clock

The core mechanism of the circadian oscillators described to date rely on transcriptional negative feedback loops with a delay between the negative and the positive components . In plants, the first suggested regulatory loop involves the transcription factors CIRCADIAN CLOCK-ASSOCIATED 1 (CCA1) and LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL (LHY) and the pseudo-response regulator TIMING OF CAB EXPRESSION 1 (TOC1/PRR1). TOC1 is a member of the Arabidopsis circadian-regulated PRR gene family . Analysis of single and double mutants in PRR7 and PRR9 indicates that these morning-expressed genes play a dual role in the circadian clock, being involved in the transmission of light signals to the clock and in the regulation of the central oscillator. Furthermore, CCA1 and LHY had a positive effect on PRR7 and PRR9 expression levels, indicating that they might form part of an additional regulatory feedback loop. We propose that the Arabidopsis circadian oscillator is composed of several interlocking positive and negative feedback loops, a feature of clock regulation that appears broadly conserved between plants, fungi, and animals.

Quantitative inference of dynamic regulatory pathways via microarray data

Background

The cellular signaling pathway (network) is one of the main topics of organismic investigations. The intracellular interactions between genes in a signaling pathway are considered as the foundation of functional genomics. Thus, what genes and how much they influence each other through transcriptional binding or physical interactions are essential problems. Under the synchronous measures of gene expression via a microarray chip, an amount of dynamic information is embedded and remains to be discovered. Using a systematically dynamic modeling approach, we explore the causal relationship among genes in cellular signaling pathways from the system biology approach.

Results

In this study, a second-order dynamic model is developed to describe the regulatory mechanism of a target gene from the upstream causality point of view. From the expression profile and dynamic model of a target gene, we can estimate its upstream regulatory function. According to this upstream regulatory function, we would deduce the upstream regulatory genes with their regulatory abilities and activation delays, and then link up a regulatory pathway. Iteratively, these regulatory genes are considered as target genes to trace back their upstream regulatory genes. Then we could construct the regulatory pathway (or network) to the genome wide. In short, we can infer the genetic regulatory pathways from gene-expression profiles quantitatively, which can confirm some doubted paths or seek some unknown paths in a regulatory pathway (network). Finally, the proposed approach is validated by randomly reshuffling the time order of microarray data.

Conclusion

We focus our algorithm on the inference of regulatory abilities of the identified causal genes, and how much delay before they regulate the downstream genes. With this information, a regulatory pathway would be built up using microarray data. In the present study, two signaling pathways, i.e. circadian regulatory pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana and metabolic shift pathway from fermentation to respiration in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, are reconstructed using microarray data to evaluate the performance of our proposed method. In the circadian regulatory pathway, we identified mainly the interactions between the biological clock and the photoperiodic genes consistent with the known regulatory mechanisms. We also discovered the now less-known regulations between crytochrome and phytochrome. In the metabolic shift pathway, the casual relationship of enzymatic genes could be detected properly.

DET1 regulates the proteasomal degradation of LHY, a component of the Arabidopsis circadian clock

Multiple photoreceptors contribute to the entrainment of the Arabidopsis circadian clock to daily cycles of light and darkness but little is known of the mechanisms by which these pathways affect the central oscillator. Here we investigate the epistatic interaction between DE-ETIOLATED 1 (DET1), a negative regulator of light-regulated gene expression, and LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL (LHY), one of the core components of the circadian oscillator. The daily onset of LHY gene expression was advanced by approximately 4 h in det1-1 mutant plants, suggesting that the wild-type DET1 protein might function to repress its transcription during the subjective night. lhy-1 det1-1 double mutants exhibited arrhythmic expression of the CAB gene in constant light, similar to the lhy-1 mutant parent. However, additive effects of the lhy-1 and det1-1 mutations on CAB2 expression patterns were revealed under diurnal light-dark cycles. Since the lhy-1 mutation causes aberrant, constitutive transcription of LHY from a constitutive viral promoter, this observation indicated that effects of DET1 were not mediated through the regulation of LHY transcription. Furthermore, the light-driven, rhythmic accumulation of the LHY protein in the lhy-1 mutant was altered by the det1-1 mutation, suggesting that DET1 might regulate LHY expression at the post-transcriptional level. In vitro protein degradation assays demonstrated that the LHY protein is turned over rapidly through the proteasome pathway. Similar degradation was observed whether plant tissue was harvested during the light or dark portion of the diurnal cycle, but the process was significantly accelerated in det1-1 mutant extracts. These results indicate that the wild-type DET1 protein acts to inhibit the proteolytic turnover of the LHY protein, and suggest a mechanism for the period-shortening effect of the det1-1 mutation. These findings add to recent evidence suggesting a role for DET1 in a ubiquitination pathway and identify a substrate for DET1-regulated protein turn-over.

The Arabidopsis thaliana clock

A combination of forward and reverse genetic approaches together with transcriptome-scale gene expression analyses have allowed the elaboration of a model for the Arabidopsis thaliana circadian clock. The working model largely conforms to the expected negative feedback loop model that has emerged from studies in other model systems. Although a core loop has emerged, it is clear that additional components remain to be identified and that the workings of the Arabidopsis clock have been established only in outline. Similarly, the details of resetting by light and temperature are only incompletely known. In contrast, the mechanism of photoperiodic induction of flowering is known in considerable detail and is consistent with the external coincidence model.

Modelling genetic networks with noisy and varied experimental data: the circadian clock in Arabidopsis thaliana

Circadian clocks in all organisms include feedback loops that generate rhythmic expression of key genes. We model the first such loop proposed for the clock of Arabidopsis thaliana, the experimental model species for circadian timing in higher plants. As for many biological systems, there are no experimental values for the parameters in our model, and the data available for parameter fitting is noisy and varied. To tackle this we constructed a cost function, which quantifies the agreement between our model and various key experimental features. We then undertook an efficient global search of parameter space, to test whether the proposed circuit can fit the experimental data. Using this approach we show that circadian clock models can function well with low cooperativity in transcriptional regulation, whereas high cooperativity has been a feature of previous (hand-fitted) clock models in other species. Our optimized solution for the Arabidopsis clock model fits several, but not all, of the key experimental features. We test the predicted effects of well-characterized mutations in the clock circuit and show the phases of the circadian cycle where additional components that are yet to be identified experimentally must be present to complete the circadian feedback loop.

Translational regulation via 5' mRNA leader sequences revealed by mutational analysis of the Arabidopsis translation initiation factor subunit eIF3h

Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3 (eIF3) consists of core subunits that are conserved from yeast to man as well as less conserved, noncore, subunits with potential regulatory roles. Whereas core subunits tend to be indispensable for cell growth, the roles of the noncore subunits remain poorly understood. We addressed the hypothesis that eIF3 noncore subunits have accessory functions that help to regulate translation initiation, by focusing on the Arabidopsis thaliana eIF3h subunit. Indeed, eIF3h was not essential for general protein translation. However, results from transient expression assays and polysome fractionation indicated that the translation efficiency of specific 5' mRNA leader sequences was compromised in an eif3h mutant, including the mRNA for the basic domain leucine zipper (bZip) transcription factor ATB2/AtbZip11, translation of which is regulated by sucrose. Among other pleiotropic developmental defects, the eif3h mutant required exogenous sugar to transit from seedling to vegetative development, but it was hypersensitive to elevated levels of exogenous sugars. The ATB2 mRNA was rendered sensitive to the eIF3h level by a series of upstream open reading frames. Moreover, eIF3h could physically interact with subunits of the COP9 signalosome, a protein complex implicated primarily in the regulation of protein ubiquitination, supporting a direct biochemical connection between translation initiation and protein turnover. Together, these data implicate eIF3 in mRNA-associated translation initiation events, such as scanning, start codon recognition, or reinitiation and suggest that poor translation initiation of specific mRNAs contributes to the pleiotropic spectrum of phenotypic defects in the eif3h mutant.

Transcription, translation, degradation, and circadian clock

Synthesis and degradation of mRNA together with synthesis and degradation of corresponding protein, this four-step-expression confers great fitness to all organisms. Transcription rate and mRNA stability both are essential for circadian expression of clock genes. In many cases, transcription rates and half-lives of mRNAs and corresponding proteins are not necessarily tightly linked with each other. The methods for measuring four-step-expression should be carefully selected and the experimental conditions should be strictly controlled.

It's time to flower: the genetic control of flowering time

In plants, successful sexual reproduction and the ensuing development of seeds and fruits depend on flowering at the right time. This involves coordinating flowering with the appropriate season and with the developmental history of the plant. Genetic and molecular analysis in the small cruciform weed, Arabidopsis, has revealed distinct but linked pathways that are responsible for detecting the major seasonal cues of day length and cold temperature, as well as other local environmental and internal signals. The balance of signals from these pathways is integrated by a common set of genes to determine when flowering occurs. Excitingly, it has been discovered that many of these same genes regulate flowering in other plants, such as rice. This review focuses on recent advances in how three of the signalling pathways (the day-length, vernalisation and autonomous pathways) function to control flowering.

The F-box protein ZEITLUPE confers dosage-dependent control on the circadian clock, photomorphogenesis, and flowering time

As an F-box protein, ZEITLUPE (ZTL) is involved in targeting one or more substrates for ubiquitination and degradation via the proteasome. The initial characterization of ZTL suggested a function limited largely to the regulation of the circadian clock. Here, we show a considerably broader role for ZTL in the control of circadian period and photomorphogenesis. Using a ZTL-specific antibody, we quantitated and characterized a ZTL dosage series that ranges from a null mutation to a strong ZTL overexpressor. In the dark, ztl null mutations lengthen circadian period, and overexpression causes arrhythmicity, suggesting a more comprehensive role for this protein in the clock than previously suspected. In the light, circadian period becomes increasingly shorter at higher levels of ZTL, to the point of arrhythmicity. By contrast, hypocotyl length increases and flowering time is delayed in direct proportion to the level of ZTL. We propose a novel testable mechanism by which circadian period and amplitude may act together to gate phytochrome B-mediated suppression of hypocotyl. We also demonstrate that ZTL-dependent delay of flowering is mediated through decreases in CONSTANS and FLOWERING LOCUS T message levels, thus directly linking proteasome-dependent proteolysis to flowering.

Light control of nuclear gene mRNA abundance and translation in tobacco

Photosynthetic signals modulate expression of nuclear genes at the levels of mRNA transcription, mRNA stability, and translation. In transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), the pea (Pisum sativum) Ferredoxin 1 (Fed-1) mRNA dissociates from polyribosomes and becomes destabilized when photosynthesis is inhibited by photosynthetic electron transport inhibitor 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea. We used polymerase chain reaction suppressive-subtractive hybridization to identify similarly regulated endogenous tobacco genes. This screen identified 14 nuclear-encoded tobacco mRNAs whose light-induced increase in abundance is suppressed in the presence of 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea. Sequence analysis of the cognate cDNAs revealed that nine of the mRNAs encode putative chloroplast-targeted proteins. We asked whether the abundance of these mRNAs was regulated transcriptionally or posttranscriptionally. Of the five mRNAs with sufficient abundance to detect using nuclear run-on assays, we observed transcriptional regulation of alpha-tubulin, thiazole biosynthetic enzyme, and pSKA10 (an unknown gene). Photosystem A subunit L and, to a lesser extent, alpha-tubulin and pSKA10 mRNAs, may also be stabilized in the light. In contrast, Rubisco small subunit mRNA abundance appears to be transcriptionally up-regulated but posttranscriptionally down-regulated in the light. To determine whether, like Fed-1 mRNA, the mRNAs identified in this screen were translationally responsive to light, we characterized the polyribosome association of these mRNAs in the light and after a 15-min dark treatment. A subset of the mRNAs showed dramatic dark-induced polyribosome dissociation, similar to Fed-1 mRNA, and all of the mRNAs showed at least slight polyribosome dissociation. Thus, both posttranscriptional and translational regulation appear to be important mechanisms regulating the expression of many nuclear-encoded mRNAs encoding proteins involved in photosynthesis.

The TIME FOR COFFEE gene maintains the amplitude and timing of Arabidopsis circadian clocks

Plants synchronize developmental and metabolic processes with the earth's 24-h rotation through the integration of circadian rhythms and responses to light. We characterize the time for coffee (tic) mutant that disrupts circadian gating, photoperiodism, and multiple circadian rhythms, with differential effects among rhythms. TIC is distinct in physiological functions and genetic map position from other rhythm mutants and their homologous loci. Detailed rhythm analysis shows that the chlorophyll a/b-binding protein gene expression rhythm requires TIC function in the mid to late subjective night, when human activity may require coffee, in contrast to the function of EARLY-FLOWERING3 (ELF3) in the late day to early night. tic mutants misexpress genes that are thought to be critical for circadian timing, consistent with our functional analysis. Thus, we identify TIC as a regulator of the clock gene circuit. In contrast to tic and elf3 single mutants, tic elf3 double mutants are completely arrhythmic. Even the robust circadian clock of plants cannot function with defects at two different phases.

Light and circadian regulation in the expression of LHY and Lhcb genes in Phaseolus vulgaris

In order to understand some aspects of the circadian clock function in Phaseolus vulgaris, we analyzed the temporal transcript profile of Lhcb genes, typical clock reporters in plants, and that of PvLHY, an orthologue of Arabidopsis thaliana LHY which is a putative transcription factor of Lhcb genes. Under different light regimes, Lhcb and PvLHY exhibit a clear circadian pattern of expression. Moreover, the rhythm of Lhcb genes appears to be tightly coupled to that of PvLHY with the latter having a slightly earlier phase. This supports the idea that the oscillating capacity of PvLHY may be one of the causes of the rhythmic expression of Lhcb genes in bean. In addition to their circadian regulation, Lhcb and PvLHY are induced by light with similar and relatively slow induction kinetics. Moreover, this light induction is gated by the circadian oscillator: minimal responses occur at times around peaks of the pre-existing rhythm, while maximal ones occur at troughs of the pre-existing rhythm. This pattern of gating is opposite to that observed in Arabidopsis. The failure to block the light induction pathways at pre-existing troughs appears to have a detrimental effect to the subsequent circadian rhythmicity. Briefly, the overall regulation of PvLHY and Lhcb genes by light and the circadian clock reveals different strategies between Phaseolus and Arabidopsis in the adaptation to photoperiodic conditions.