We were interested to know the extent of circadian rhythm variation in Australian wheat cultivars, and what impact it might have on agricultural traits. The trait we chose was timing of leaf senescence, because it affects grain nutrient content. 2/7

We found significant variation in circadian period which correlated with timing of leaf senescence. Wheat cultivars with faster clocks senesced earlier. 3/7

We then compared the circadian transcriptomes of mature and senescent wheat leaves. This indicated an overall quickening of the clock, but also a reshaping of the circadian network, and surprisingly to us, an increased number of rhythmic transcripts in senescent leaves. 4/7

With help from collaborators at CSIRO, we looked at patterns of genetic variation in circadian clock genes in >200 Australian wheat cultivar genomes to cluster circadian multilocus genotypes (MLGs) and then phenotyped representative cultivars for circadian period and timing of senescence. 5/7

The phenotypes of the MLGs and the GRN from the transcriptomes prompted us to examine these traits in NILs of an ELF3-D1 deletion mutant. We found that the deletion lines had earlier senescence and lower grain protein content. 6/7