Nature’s Master of Ceremony: The Populus Circadian Clock as Orchestrator of Tree Growth and Phenology. Mariën, B., Robinson, K. M., Jurca, M., Michelson, I. H., Takata, N., Kozarewa, I., Pin, P. A., Ingvarsson, P. K., Moritz, T., Ibáñez, C., Nilsson, O., Jansson, S., Penfield, S., Yu, J., & Eriksson, M. E. npj Biological Timing and Sleep, 2(1):1–19, April, 2025. Publisher: Nature Publishing Group![Nature’s Master of Ceremony: The Populus Circadian Clock as Orchestrator of Tree Growth and Phenology [link]](https://bibbase.org/img/filetypes/link.svg "link")
Paper doi abstract bibtex Understanding the timely regulation of plant growth and phenology is crucial for assessing a terrestrial ecosystem’s productivity and carbon budget. The circadian clock, a system of genetic oscillators, acts as ‘Master of Ceremony’ during plant physiological processes. The mechanism is particularly elusive in trees despite its relevance. The primary and secondary tree growth, leaf senescence, bud set, and bud burst timing were investigated in 68 constructs transformed into Populus hybrids and compared with untransformed or transformed controls grown in natural or controlled conditions. The results were analyzed using generalized additive models with ordered-factor-smooth interaction smoothers. This meta-analysis shows that several genetic components are associated with the clock. Especially core clock-regulated genes affected tree growth and phenology in both controlled and field conditions. Our results highlight the importance of field trials and the potential of using the clock to generate trees with improved characteristics for sustainable silviculture (e.g., reprogrammed to new photoperiodic regimes and increased growth).
@article{marien_natures_2025,
title = {Nature’s {Master} of {Ceremony}: {The} {Populus} {Circadian} {Clock} as {Orchestrator} of {Tree} {Growth} and {Phenology}},
volume = {2},
copyright = {2025 The Author(s)},
issn = {2948-281X},
shorttitle = {Nature’s {Master} of {Ceremony}},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s44323-025-00034-4},
doi = {10.1038/s44323-025-00034-4},
abstract = {Understanding the timely regulation of plant growth and phenology is crucial for assessing a terrestrial ecosystem’s productivity and carbon budget. The circadian clock, a system of genetic oscillators, acts as ‘Master of Ceremony’ during plant physiological processes. The mechanism is particularly elusive in trees despite its relevance. The primary and secondary tree growth, leaf senescence, bud set, and bud burst timing were investigated in 68 constructs transformed into Populus hybrids and compared with untransformed or transformed controls grown in natural or controlled conditions. The results were analyzed using generalized additive models with ordered-factor-smooth interaction smoothers. This meta-analysis shows that several genetic components are associated with the clock. Especially core clock-regulated genes affected tree growth and phenology in both controlled and field conditions. Our results highlight the importance of field trials and the potential of using the clock to generate trees with improved characteristics for sustainable silviculture (e.g., reprogrammed to new photoperiodic regimes and increased growth).},
language = {en},
number = {1},
urldate = {2025-04-11},
journal = {npj Biological Timing and Sleep},
author = {Mariën, Bertold and Robinson, Kathryn M. and Jurca, Manuela and Michelson, Ingrid H. and Takata, Naoki and Kozarewa, Iwanka and Pin, Pierre A. and Ingvarsson, Pär K. and Moritz, Thomas and Ibáñez, Cristian and Nilsson, Ove and Jansson, Stefan and Penfield, Steve and Yu, Jun and Eriksson, Maria E.},
month = apr,
year = {2025},
note = {Publisher: Nature Publishing Group},
keywords = {Biological techniques, Plant sciences},
pages = {1--19},
}
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