The Daily timetable of gene expression rhythms undergoes programmed warping toward the nighttime pattern in aged Arabidopsis
The daily pattern of temporal gene expression is regulated by the circadian clock system. Under constant environmental conditions, aging is associated with a shortening of the endogenous period of circadian rhythms in Arabidopsis. This study investigated to investigate how aging influences the waveforms of rhythmic patterns of gene expression under light/dark cycles. The waveforms of the daily cycling circadian clock showed significant warping in aged leaves, which shifted their expression pattern. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that the number of daily cycling genes in aged leaves was reduced by more than half. Furthermore, in aged plants, the expression schedule of cycling genes in both young and old leaves warped. Circadian clock mutants, including toc1, which did not exhibit age-dependent warping, had significantly altered warping patterns.