Plants can "tell time", according to research
24 Oct 2013
A study conducted by the University of Cambridge has found that plants use sugars to tell the time of day.
Scientists from the University of Cambridge have shown that plants are able to set and maintain their own version of an internal clock. They have found that the sugars produced by plants are key to time-keeping.
According to the research, which was published today in the journal Nature, plants, like animals, have a 24 hour ’body-clock’ known as the circadian rhythm.
Research shows that sugar levels within a plant play a vital role in synchronising circadian rhythms
Dr Alex Webb
This biological timer gives plants an innate ability to measure time, even when there is little or no light.
They don’t simply respond to sunrise, for example, they know it is coming and adjust their biology accordingly. This ability to keep time provides an important competitive advantage and is vital in biological processes such as flowering, fragrance emission and leaf movement, researchers suggest.
Researchers studied the effects of certain sugars by monitoring seedlings in CO2-free air, to inhibit photosynthesis, and by growing genetically altered plants and monitoring their biology. The production of sugars was found to regulate key genes responsible for the 24 hour rhythm.
Lead researcher at the University of Cambridge Dr Alex Webb said: “Our research shows that sugar levels within a plant play a vital role in synchronising circadian rhythms with its surrounding environment. Inhibiting photosynthesis, for example, slowed the plants internal clock by between 2 and 3 hours.”
The research also showed that photosynthesis has a profound effect on setting and maintaining robust circadian rhythms in Arabidopsis plants, demonstrating a critical role for metabolism in regulation of the circadian clock.
