Multiple metals influence distinct properties of the Arabidopsis circadian clock

Abstract

Circadian rhythms coordinate endogenous events with external signals, and are essential to biological function. When environmental contaminants affect these rhythms, the organism may experience fitness consequences such as reduced growth or increased susceptibility to pathogens. In their natural environment plants may be exposed to a wide range of industrial and agricultural pollutants. Here, we investigate how the addition of various metal salts to the environment can impact plant-circadian rhythms, via the promoter:luciferase system. The consequences of these environmental changes were found to be varied and complex. Therefore, in addition to Fourier-based analyses, we apply novel wavelet-based spectral hypothesis testing and clustering methodologies to organize and understand the data. We are able to classify broad sets of responses to environmental contaminants, including pollutants which increase, or decrease, the period, or which induce a lack of precision or disrupt any meaningful periodicity. The methods are general, and may be applied to discover common responses and hidden structures within a wide range of biological time series data.