Abstract

Plants affect us in every second of our lives. And yet, not every second of their lives is completely understood. The circadian clock is a complex mechanism by which plants tell the time, and which is very important for photosynthesis, growth, survival as well as competitive advantage (Dodd et al., 2005). Its multiple components are integrated into each plant cell and can be symbolized by gear wheels in a mechanical watch. To guarantee the precision of this essential mechanism, transcription-translation feedback loops (TTFLs) are entrained by zeitgebers, such as light, temperature and sugar (Aschoff and Pohl, 1978; Haydon et al., unpublished). The Webb laboratory has demonstrated that sucrose represses the expression of the circadian clock gene PSEUDORESPONSE REGULATOR 7 (PRR7) and that shortening of circadian period by sucrose requires a functional copy of PRR7 (Haydon et al., unpublished). In this project, I aim to identify the mechanisms by which sucrose regulates the expression of PRR7 .