Manipulation of Photosensory and Circadian Signalling Restricts Phenotypic Plasticity in Response to Changing Environmental Conditions in Arabidopsis

Plants exploit phenotypic plasticity to adapt their growth and development to prevailing environmental cues. Phenotypic plasticity is invaluable to maximize survival in nature but restricts large-scale, intensive agricultural practices since economically important traits (including vegetative growth and flowering time) consequently vary dependent upon local environmental conditions. This prevents accurate prediction of harvesting times and produces a variable crop. We sought to restrict developmental plasticity through manipulation of two signalling systems that govern plants responses to environmental signals. Constitutive activation of the plant photoreceptor phytochromeB, along with disruption of the circadian system via mutation of EARLY FLOWERING3 produces plants that are less responsive to light and temperature cues. These engineered plants have uniform vegetative growth and flowering time and demonstrate how phenotypic plasticity can be limited whilst maintaining plant productivity. This has significant implications for future agriculture in both open fields and controlled environments.