Light and temperature signals are integrated through a phytochrome B-dependent gene regulatory network in rice

Angiosperms are the most dominant land plant flora and have colonized most of the terrestrial habitats, thriving in different environmental conditions, among which light and temperature play a crucial role. In the eudicot Arabidopsis thaliana, light and temperature are integrated into a phytochrome B (phyB)-dependent signalling network that regulates development. However, whether this signal integration controls the development in other angiosperm lineages and whether phyB is a conserved hub of this integratory network in angiosperms is unclear. We used a combination of phylogenetic, phenotypic, and transcriptomic analyses to understand the phyB-dependent light and temperature integratory network in the monocot Oryza sativa and infer its conservation in angiosperms. Here, we showed that light and temperature co-regulate rice growth through a phyB-dependent regulatory network that shares conserved features between O. sativa and A. thaliana. Despite the conservation of the components of this regulatory network, the transcriptional regulation between the components has changed qualitatively since monocots and eudicots diverged (similar to 192-145 million years ago). The evolutionary flexibility of this integratory network might underlie the successful adaptation of plants to diverse ecological niches. Furthermore, our findings provide promising candidate genes whose activity and expression can be fine-tuned to improve plant growth and productivity in a warming planet.