The role of circadian oscillators in temperature responses of wheat

As climate change drives temperatures to unprecedented levels, understanding the fundamental biology of how crop plants respond to heat is essential. Previously, the Webb lab contributed to the discovery that one regulator of temperature responses is the circadian clock, which controls the timing of events in plants. It has found ifferences between the circadian clocks in the model plant Arabidopsis and wheat, the UK’s major crop. The differences are in a protein called Early Flowering 3 (ELF3), which might affect the circadian clock and temperature responses.

This project aims to describe the structure of the wheat circadian clock and how it contributes to temperature responses to provide information about gene function for breeders to identify targets for improved wheat in a changing climate. To understand the wheat circadian clock, it will make a mathematical model based on the timing of gene activity. Utilizing a multi-skilled team of experts in circadian rhythms, mathematical modelling and analysis of genomes, it seeks to achieve an understanding of the mechanisms that occur during temperature resetting of the clock and temperature regulation of wheat growth. The findings will be shared openly with other researches working on wheat biology to foster innovative new research.