For plants adapted to bright light, a decrease in the amount of light received can be detrimental to their growth and survival. Consequently, in response to shade from surrounding vegetation, they initiate a suite of molecular and morphological changes known as the shade avoidance response (SAR) through which stems and petioles elongate in search for light. Under sunlight-night cycles, the plant's responsiveness to shade varies across the day, being maximal at dusk time. While a role for the circadian clock in this regulation has long been proposed, mechanistic understanding of how it is achieved is incomplete. Here we show that the clock component GIGANTEA (GI) directly interacts with the transcriptional regulator PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR 7 (PIF7), a key player in the response to shade. GI represses PIF7 transcriptional activity and the expression of its target genes in response to shade, thereby fine-tuning the magnitude of the response to limiting light conditions. We find that, under light/dark cycles, this function of GI is required to adequately modulate the gating of the response to shade at dusk. Importantly, we also show that GI expression in epidermal cells is sufficient for proper SAR regulation.
Keywords: GIGANTEA; PIF7; Shade avoidance; circadian gating; tissue specificity.