The internal clock is important for regulating daily biological processes within an organism. To identify factors affecting the plant biological clock, Ono et al. (on pp.2360-2368) performed a large-scale chemical screening in Arabidopsis and found that 3, 4-Dibromo-7-Azainodole extends the circadian period by inhibiting casein kinase 1, which leads to the accumulation of clock-associated proteins PSEUDO-RESPONSE REGULATOR5 and TIMING OF CAB EXPRESSION 1. This approach opens the door to identifying other small molecules that could potentially act as novel agrochemicals for manipulating the plant clock.
The cover image illustrates the binding of 3, 4-Dibromo-7-Azainodle to casein kinase 1, which lengthens the clock period. Image created by Issey Takahashi (ITbM, Nagoya University, Japan).
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