By researching circadian genes in major crop plant species, we will begin to understand how crop plants modify their internal processes in accordance with environmental cues. Zea mays (maize) is among the most important crops grown worldwide, and an established experimental model for plant biology. Genetically, maize is remarkable as it has undergone whole genome duplication and retained multiple copies of each clock gene. Moreover, the natural diversity of maize varieties provides an extraordinarily varied set of circadian clocks to study. Investigating the signaling networks within the maize circadian clock is an important step toward practical application of insights from clock research to agriculturally significant crops (Bendix, Marshall, and Harmon, 2015).
The goal of this project is to characterize the signaling networks of the maize circadian clock and establish their responses to environmental cues. Previous work has established the presence of a maize circadian clock and the maize counterparts of A. thaliana clock components. Using molecular and genetic approaches, we aim to establish a set of maize circadian clock tools for other researchers to use. Research thus far has focused on the two maize gi genes: we have found that gi1 has analogous functions to Arabidopsis GI, and is involved both in flowering time and growth pathways (Bendix et al., 2013).