New Horizons in Plant Photoperiodism

Annu Rev Plant Biol. 2023 May 22:74:481-509. doi: 10.1146/annurev-arplant-070522-055628. Epub 2023 Feb 28.

Abstract

Photoperiod-measuring mechanisms allow organisms to anticipate seasonal changes to align reproduction and growth with appropriate times of the year. This review provides historical and modern context to studies of plant photoperiodism. We describe how studies of photoperiodic flowering in plants led to the first theoretical models of photoperiod-measuring mechanisms in any organism. We discuss how more recent molecular genetic studies in Arabidopsis and rice have revisited these concepts. We then discuss how photoperiod transcriptomics provides new lessons about photoperiodic gene regulatory networks and the discovery of noncanonical photoperiod-measuring systems housed in metabolic networks of plants. This leads to an examination of nonflowering developmental processes controlled by photoperiod, including metabolism and growth. Finally, we highlight the importance of understanding photoperiodism in the context of climate change, delving into the rapid latitudinal migration of plant species and the potential role of photoperiod-measuring systems in generating photic barriers during migration.

Keywords: external coincidence; metabolic daylength measurement system; noncanonical photoperiod measurement; photoperiod; photosynthetic photoperiod.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Arabidopsis* / genetics
  • Circadian Rhythm* / genetics
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
  • Photoperiod
  • Plants / genetics
  • Reproduction