Role of Light in the Growth and Development of Plants

Dear Colleagues,

Plants are fascinating creatures, and were able to colonize our planet despite the fact that they are unable to move actively. As sessile organisms, plants adopted several highly redundant and fail-safe signalling systems to manage constant adjustment of their metabolism, growth and development to their ever-changing environment.

Circadian clocks are genetic oscillators contributing to the fitness of plants by scheduling a wide range of molecular and physiological processes to the most appropriate times of the day. In order to keep good time, the clock needs to be synchronised to the day/night cycles on a daily basis. The most effective synchronising environmental signal is light, perceived by photoreceptors that relay signal to the circadian oscillator to reset its phase. On the other hand, clock-controlled output rhythms can functionally interact with photoreceptor-mediated light-signalling cascades creating a basis for day length measurement, which is then utilized to regulate complex vital seasonal processes such as reproduction.

With this Special Issue collection of papers, we would like to shed light on the complicated and multi-level interactions between light and clock regulation in plants. Accordingly, we are calling for excellent papers focusing on (i) plant photoreceptors and signalling mechanisms; (ii) the structure and function of the circadian oscillator; (iii) photoperiodism, including day length control of flowering; and (iv) the processes linking the above regulatory units.  

I am convinced that we can put together an exciting collection of papers providing a comprehensive and current illustration of the state-of-art of our field. 

Best regards,
Dr. László Kozma-Bognár
Guest Editor

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