Photoperiod and Circadian Regulation in Plants: A Review of Insights from In Vitro Studies

Plants possess several molecular mechanisms that enable them to adapt their development to environmental changes. Many plant biological processes depend on the circadian rhythm and are regulated by the internal biological clock. Predictable environmental changes, such as variations in photoperiod, can modulate circadian rhythms, allowing organisms to synchronize their biological processes with seasonal conditions. Plant tissue culture is a valuable tool for investigating and monitoring plant plasticity in response to environmental fluctuations, as well as for elucidating the biological changes that occur under these conditions. This review highlights the importance of in vitro culture as a tool to study the physiological plasticity triggered by photoperiod and its interaction with the plant biological clock. To achieve this, a descriptive analysis was conducted through a literature search in the Scopus database, followed by a bibliometric analysis to demonstrate the progress in the application of in vitro culture to studies on photoperiod and circadian regulation in plants.