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Updated: Oct 5, 2025

Rapid Analysis of Circadian Phenotypes in Arabidopsis Protoplasts Transfected with a Luminescent Clock Reporter
Published on: September 17, 2016
Adaptive Diversification in the Cellular Circadian Behavior of Arabidopsis Leaf- and Root-Derived Cells
Shunji Nakamura1, Tokitaka Oyama1
1Department of Botany, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa-oiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8502 Japan.
Abstract:
The plant circadian system is based on self-sustained cellular oscillations and is utilized to adapt to daily and seasonal environmental changes. The cellular circadian clocks in the above- and belowground plant organs are subjected to diverse local environments. Individual cellular clocks are affected by other cells/tissues in plants, and the intrinsic circadian properties of individual cells remain to be elucidated. In this study, we monitored bioluminescence circadian rhythms of individual protoplast-derived cells from leaves and roots of a CCA1::LUC Arabidopsis transgenic plant. We analyzed the circadian properties of the leaf- and root-derived cells and demonstrated that the cells with no physical contact with other cells harbor a genuine circadian clock with ∼24-h periodicity, entrainability and temperature compensation of the period. The stability of rhythm was dependent on the cell density. High cell density resulted in an improved circadian rhythm of leaf-derived cells while this effect was observed irrespective of the phase relation between cellular rhythms. Quantitative and statistical analyses for individual cellular bioluminescence rhythms revealed a difference in amplitude and precision of light/dark entrainment between the leaf- and root-derived cells. Circadian systems in the leaves and roots are diversified to adapt to their local environments at the cellular level.
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Transcription
Transcription is the process of synthesizing RNA from a DNA sequence by RNA polymerase. It is the first step in producing a protein from a gene sequence. Additionally, many other proteins and regulatory sequences are involved in the proper synthesis of messenger RNA (mRNA). Regulation of transcription is responsible for the differentiation of all the different types of cells and often for the proper cellular response to environmental signals.
Transcription Can Produce Different Kinds...
Primary and Secondary Growth in Roots and Shoots

