In episode 39 of the Performance Around The Clock podcast, we are joined by Professor Alex Webb from the University of Cambridge, a leading expert in plant cell signaling and circadian clocks. The episode was recorded at the XVIII Congress of the European Biological Rhythms Society in Lubeck, Germany. Professor Webb shares his journey from psychology to plant physiology, discussing how a shared inspiration from researcher Andrew Miller led both him and also host Dr. Satchin Panda into the field of circadian rhythms.

We explore the foundational history of biological clocks, starting with the 18th-century "wine cellar" experiment by De Mairan that first proved plants possess an internal oscillator. Professor Webb explains the complex behaviors of plants, such as the "yin and yang" of diurnal and nocturnal flowering to match pollinators, and the phenomenon of "sweaty plants"—how the circadian clock regulates stomata to balance carbon intake with water loss. We also discuss the metabolic math plants perform to survive the night, a process that explains why pumpkins actually grow in the dark. The conversation turns to "chronoculture," a concept focused on using circadian knowledge to optimize agriculture and meet the urgent goal of doubling food production by 2050. We examine how humans have inadvertently selected for clock mutations in crops like tomatoes and wheat—specifically the L3 gene—to adapt them to new environments. Finally, we discuss the "Plants for Space" program and how innovations in vertical farming for the International Space Station can teach us how to build sustainable, closed-loop food systems for our own "spaceship," Earth.

Please join us for this fascinating discussion on the rhythms of the plant world. If you enjoy this episode, please like, comment or follow. Thanks for listening.

Guest:

Dr. Alex Webb

Head of Circadian Signal Transduction Group

University of Cambridge

Profile:

https://www.plantsci.cam.ac.uk/directory/alex-webb

BlueSky:

https://bsky.app/profile/alexwebblab.bsky.social

Host:

Dr. Satchin Panda

X (Twitter): @SatchinPanda

https://x.com/SatchinPanda

Instagram: @satchin.panda

https://www.instagram.com/satchin.panda/

Links:

Donations: https://panda.salk.edu/giving/

Research: https://www.salk.edu/scientist/satchidananda-panda/
More science: ⁠https://mycircadianclock.org/⁠