Tissue-specific functions of the circadian clock in Arabidopsis have recently been revealed. The vasculature clock shows distinctive gene expression profiles compared to the clock in other tissues under light-dark cycles. However, it has not yet been established whether the vasculature clock also shows unique gene expression patterns that correlate with temperature cycles, another important env...

Most species living in temperate zones adapt their physiology and behavior to seasonal changes in the environment by using the photoperiod as a primary cue. The mechanisms underlying photoperiodic regulation of stress-related functions are not well understood. In this study, we analyzed the effects of photoperiod on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in photoperiod-sensitive Fischer 344 ra...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Accurate quantifications of plant responses to photoperiod are useful for physiological studies, in growth modelling and in other studies of environmental effects. The objective of the current work was a mathematical description of photoperiodic influence on plant morphological traits, using functions with few and common parameters related to key plant characteristics and ty...

Optimal flowering time is critical to the success of modern agriculture. Sorghum is a short-day tropical species that exhibits substantial photoperiod sensitivity and delayed flowering in long days. Genotypes with reduced photoperiod sensitivity enabled sorghum's utilization as a grain crop in temperate zones worldwide. In the present study, Ma(1), the major repressor of sorghum flowering in lo...

The medial nucleus of the amygdala (MeA) is a steroid-sensitive region that has been implicated in the expression of behaviors such as mating and aggression. The male Siberian hamster (Phodopus sungorus) uses light cues to regulate its reproductive neuroendocrine system, reducing androgen synthesis in the autumn and increasing it in the spring. There is also evidence that short photoperiods red...

Floral transition from the vegetative to the reproductive growth phase is a major change in the plant life cycle and a key factor in reproductive success. In rice (Oryza sativa L.), a facultative short-day plant, numerous flowering time and flower formation genes that control floral transition have been identified and their physiological effects and biochemical functions have been clarified. In...

There are generally four recognized classes of japonica rice cultivars grown in the lower region of the Yangtze River valley. The geographical distribution of the four classes is latitude-dependent. Variation for heading date (HD) among 29 japonica rice cultivars grown in the lower region of the Yangtze River valley and belonging to the four classes was characterized, and their sensitivity to v...

The cabbage beetle, Colaphellus bowringi Baly (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), a serious pest of crucifers in China, undergoes summer or winter diapause in the soil as an adult. In the present study, the incidence of diapause were measured in reciprocal crosses between a high-diapause strain (HD strain) and a laboratory-selected nondiapausing strain (ND strain) under different photoperiods and temp...