How does plants regulate circadian rhythms?

Recently, a group of international scientists published a new study that plants have the ability to regulate day-night circadian rhythms by 'measuring' the amount of sugar in their cells.

Plants, animals, fungi and some species of bacteria can assess the time of day through their circadian rhythms. These rhythms are regulated by a 'biological clock' inside the body. This is an important issue that is of interest to both the agricultural and medical industries. Historically, humans have changed the biological rhythm of plants to tame them.

Plants are an extremely accurate watch.

In the new study published on August 2, 2018 in Current Biology, a group of scientists from Brisol, Cambridge, Campinas, Sao Paulo and Melbourne universities discovered the process of adjusting time plants to suit the external environment.

Previously, scientists thought that plants could 'sense' the amount of sugar produced during photosynthesis to regulate the circadian rhythm. However, this may cause them to be 'buggy' in the light of the day. For example, a sunny day will cause their biological clock to "run faster" than usual.

Dr. Antony Dodd from Brisol Biology University said : 'Our findings show that plants have adjusted their watches to the environment. They do this by continuously measuring the amount of sugar in the cell and using that information to make 'mandatory adjustments'.

Plants regulate flowering time by biological rhythm.

Plants need an accurate circadian rhythm to regulate their 'behavior' according to day and night changes. This rhythm will help them control important tasks such as: When to develop body size, when to bloom and release fragrance and especially when to store energy to not be ' hungry ' at night.

Biological rhythms also help plants detect changes in seasons. This is very important for them in adapting during the season. Dr Dodd added: 'The significance of discovering the plant mechanism that regulates the biological clock with the changing environment is that we can create more productive plants.'