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The ELF3 zeitnehmer regulates light signalling to the circadian clock

Nature volume 408, pages 716–720 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

The circadian system regulates 24-hour biological rhythms1 and seasonal rhythms, such as flowering2. Long-day flowering plants like Arabidopsis thaliana, measure day length with a rhythm that is not reset at lights-off3, whereas short-day plants measure night length on the basis of circadian rhythm of light sensitivity that is set from dusk2. early flowering 3 (elf3) mutants of Arabidopsis are aphotoperiodic4 and exhibit light-conditional arrhythmia5,6. Here we show that the elf3-7 mutant retains oscillator function in the light but blunts circadian gating of CAB gene activation, indicating that deregulated phototransduction may mask rhythmicity. Furthermore, elf3 mutations confer the resetting pattern of short-day photoperiodism, indicating that gating of phototransduction may control resetting. Temperature entrainment can bypass the requirement for normal ELF3 function for the oscillator and partially restore rhythmic CAB expression. Therefore, ELF3 specifically affects light input to the oscillator, similar to its function in gating CAB activation, allowing oscillator progression past a light-sensitive phase in the subjective evening. ELF3 provides experimental demonstration of the zeitnehmer (‘time-taker’) concept7,8.

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Figure 1: Timing of CAB–LUC peaks after LD cycles.
Figure 2: Circadian modulation of the acute response to light in elf3 mutants.
Figure 3: Response to temperature or combined light and temperature cycles.
Figure 4: Timing of CAB–LUC peaks after temperature cycles.

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Acknowledgements

R.M.B. was supported by a Gatsby graduate studentship; this work was supported by grants from the BBSRC to A.J.M.

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  1. Harriet G. McWatters and Ruth M. Bastow: These authors contributed equally to this work

  2. Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to A.J.M..

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK

    Harriet G. McWatters, Ruth M. Bastow, Anthony Hall & Andrew J. Millar

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McWatters, H., Bastow, R., Hall, A. et al. The ELF3 zeitnehmer regulates light signalling to the circadian clock. Nature 408, 716–720 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35047079

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