The role of ROC75 as a daytime component of the circadian oscillator in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

PLoS Genet. 2020 Jun 17;16(6):e1008814. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1008814. eCollection 2020 Jun.

Abstract

The circadian clocks in chlorophyte algae have been studied in two model organisms, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Ostreococcus tauri. These studies revealed that the chlorophyte clocks include some genes that are homologous to those of the angiosperm circadian clock. However, the genetic network architectures of the chlorophyte clocks are largely unknown, especially in C. reinhardtii. In this study, using C. reinhardtii as a model, we characterized RHYTHM OF CHLOROPLAST (ROC) 75, a clock gene encoding a putative GARP DNA-binding transcription factor similar to the clock proteins LUX ARRHYTHMO (LUX, also called PHYTOCLOCK 1 [PCL1]) and BROTHER OF LUX ARRHYTHMO (BOA, also called NOX) of the angiosperm Arabidopsis thaliana. We observed that ROC75 is a day/subjective day-phase-expressed nuclear-localized protein that associates with some night-phased clock genes and represses their expression. This repression may be essential for the gating of reaccumulation of the other clock-related GARP protein, ROC15, after its light-dependent degradation. The restoration of ROC75 function in an arrhythmic roc75 mutant under constant darkness leads to the resumption of circadian oscillation from the subjective dawn, suggesting that the ROC75 restoration acts as a morning cue for the C. reinhardtii clock. Our study reveals a part of the genetic network of C. reinhardtii clock that could be considerably different from that of A. thaliana.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Chlamydomonas reinhardtii / physiology*
  • Chloroplasts / physiology
  • Circadian Clocks / genetics*
  • Circadian Rhythm / genetics
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant*
  • Gene Regulatory Networks / physiology
  • Mutation
  • Photoperiod
  • Plant Proteins / physiology*
  • Plants, Genetically Modified
  • Transcription Factors / physiology*

Substances

  • Plant Proteins
  • Transcription Factors

Grants and funding

This work was supported by grants from JSPS KAKENHI (Grant number JP16K07448 and JP19K06720), DAIKO Foundation, Takeda Science Foundation, The NOVARTIS Foundation (Japan) for the Promotion of Science, and NAGASE Science Technology Foundation to TM. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.