• Responses of plants to their light environment
• Plant photoreceptors and signal transduction mechanisms
• Phototropism
• Shade avoidance
• Role of the circadian clock in plant growth responses

Plant Photoreceptor-Mediated Signal Transduction

Both genetic and environmental factors influence growth and development of any living organism. Plant development is very plastic and is constantly modulated by environmental fluctuations. Being photoautotrophic plants are particularly sensitive to their light environment. Light affects all aspects of the plant life cycle. To optimize growth according to ambient light conditions plants evolved several classes of photoreceptors including the UV-A/blue light sensing cryptochromes and phototropins and the phytochromes maximally absorbing red/far-red light. The coordinated action of all these light receptors allows plants to fine-tune their development.

We focus our attention on two characteristic plant responses to light: phototropism which is the ability of plant stems to reorient their growth towards a unilateral source of light and shade avoidance which in shade intolerant plants such as Arabidopsis triggers elongation growth responses enabling the plant to reach unfiltered sunlight. Both light-responses contribute to the maximization of plant growth in particular in low light conditions that are typical in dense plant populations.

► Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.ch/citations?hl=de&user=Dsr_4C4AAAAJ

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  Plant Physiology 191 (1), 542-557   2023
• A combination of plasma membrane sterol biosynthesis and autophagy is required for shade-induced hypocotyl elongation
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• Focus on circadian rhythms
  Harmer, Stacey L.; Fankhauser, Christian; Webb, Alex A. R.
  Plant Physiology 10.1093/plphys/kiac353  SEP 28 2022
• Shade suppresses wound-induced leaf repositioning through a mechanism involving PHYTOCHROME KINASE SUBSTRATE (PKS) genes.
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• Phototropin-mediated perception of light direction in leaves regulates blade flattening
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  Plant Physiology, 10.1093/plphys/kiab410  NOV 2021
• Architecture and plasticity: optimizing plant performance in dynamic environments
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  Plant Physiology, 10.1093/plphys/kiab402  NOV 2021
• AT the Onset of DNA Replication in Arabidopsis.
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  Plant physiology, 183 (1) pp. 19-20.  https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.20.00411  2020
• Low Blue Light Enhances Phototropism by Releasing Cryptochrome1-Mediated Inhibition of PIF4 Expression
  Boccaccini, Alessandra; Legris, Martina; Krahmer, Johanna; Allenbach-Petrolati, Laure; Goyal, Anupama; Galvan-Ampudia, Carlos; Vernoux, Teva; Karayekov, Elizabeth; Casal, Jorge J; Fankhauser, Christian
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• UVR8-mediated inhibition of shade avoidance involves HFR1 stabilization in Arabidopsis
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  Plos Genetics 10.1371/journal.pgen.1008797, MAY 2020
• A light-dependent molecular link between competition cues and defence responses in plants
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• PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR 7 is important for early responses to elevated temperature in Arabidopsis seedlings
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