The biological clock in plants

Many plants have a biological clock containing details of their own structure and other life forms that assist them
with pollination and that bears a literal resemblance to a computer. The existence of this biological clocks points
to a single reality, the fact of Creation.
The ability to measure time is an ability that one does not usually expect to see in other living things other than
man. It may be thought that this is limited to man, but both plants and animals possess a time-measuring
mechanism, or "biological clock."
In the 1920s, when two scientists in Germany, Erwin Buenning and Kurt Stem, were studying the movement of
bean plant leaves, they saw that the plants were moving their leaves towards the sun throughout the day, and
that at night they were gathering their leaves vertically upwards and assuming a sleeping position.
Some 200 years before these two scientists published their findings, the French astronomer Jacques d'Ortuous
de Marian had also observed that plants possessed such a regular sleep rhythm. Experiments in a dark
environment where temperature and moisture were controlled showed that this situation did not change, and
that plants possessed systems inside themselves which measure time.
Under natural conditions, plants select certain times for certain activities. They do this in line with certain
changes in the sunlight. Because their internal clocks are tuned to sunlight, they complete their rhythmic
activities in 24 hours. In other cases, there are some rhythms which are much longer than 24 hours.
No matter how long the rhythmic motions last, there is one point that does not change. These motions happen to
ensure the life of the plant and the survival of the generations, and always take place at the most appropriate
time. And in order for them to be successful, several complicated processes have to be completed in a flawless
manner.
For example, in most plants flowers open at a particular time of year, i.e. at the best possible time. Plants'
clocks, which regulate this time, also calculate the duration of sunlight falling on the leaves. Every plant's
biological clock calculates this period in accordance with the plant's particular features. No matter what the
calculation, the flowers open at the most appropriate time. As a result of research into the regulation of time in
the soya bean, it was seen that, at whatever time these plants are sown, they open their flowers at the same
time of year.
Plants use this perfect sense of timing in many of their functions, not just opening flowers. For example, it
causes the time the poppy flower disperses its pollen to coincide with the days and hours when pollinators are
most prevalent. And these days and hours vary from plant to plant. But at the end of the day, with this time
regulation, every plant disperses its pollen in a manner guaranteed to give the best results. Poppy flowers
disperse their pollen in July and August between 05:30 and 10:00 in the morning. That is the time is that bees
and other insects emerge to look for food. At this point the flower has to include in its calculation not just its own
characteristics, but also those of other living things, down to the finest detail. The plant must have accurate
knowledge of the time when the creatures which will fertilize it emerge, the length of the journey they will
undertake, and the times they feed. In such a situation the following question comes to mind: Where in the plant
is this clock, which possesses all this "information," which does all the necessary calculations, analyses the
features of other creatures, and works in a way reminiscent of a computer centre? Scientists believe that
biological clocks in living things other than plants generally come into existence as an effect of the pituitary
gland. But where the perfect time measuring system is in plants is still a mystery to them.
This clearly indicates a superior intelligence and power which establishes and controls the timing of all plants'
different activities.
The biological clock in plants is just one of the countless miracles of Creation. The theory of evolution on the
other hand, which irrationally maintains that life emerged by chance, conflicts with scientific truths and tries to
find support for its claims by building various fantasies. This is a reality that evolutionists admit from time to
time.The famous, Nobel prize-winning evolutionist Dr. Robert Milikan admits the evolutionists’s predicament;
"The pathetic thing is that we have scientists who are trying to prove evolution, which no scientist can ever
prove. (SBS Vital topics, David B. Loughran, April 1996, Stewarton, Scotland,
URL:http://www.rmplc.co.uk/eduweb/sites/sbs777/vital/evolutio.html)
God shows us proofs of His creation with His superior power and infinite knowledge everywhere, and expects us
to reflect and draw conclusions from them. As stated in the Qur’an, only people capable of using their intellects
can think and learn and thus know and appreciate our Lord in the best possible way.
“It is He Who sends down water from the sky. From it you drink and from it come the shrubs among
which you graze your herds. And by it He makes crops grow for you and olives and dates and grapes
and fruit of every kind. There is certainly a Sign in that for people who reflect.” (Sura An-Nahl, 10-11)
Jul 22, 2008

4. The biological clock

This built in clock is inside every cell of the plant and is controlled by a series of components. To describe
these components to you, I need to tell you more about the secret life of plants.
Plants, just like us, are very diverse and each plant is totally different. If you look at various people you will
see that each one of us is unique. Some people have blue eyes and some have brown eyes; some people
are tall and others are shorter; the list of differences is endless.
The reason everyone looks so different is because we have all been built following different instructions. You
can imagine it's a bit like a manual for building a LEGO model. Now lets imagine that your manual describes
you in every little detail, and the instructions are the information that your body needs to work properly and
look unique.
This manual is tiny and is found inside each of the cells that make up your body. In scientific terms it would
be called your "DNA" and the instructions inside the manual are your "genes". Each plant also has its own
manual (DNA) complete with instructions (genes) and some of these genes work like a clock.
The clock genes work on a central feedback loop; this means that three genes work together in a seesaw-
like action. These genes have the curious names of CCA1, LHY and TOC1; TOC1 is named after the sound
a clock makes! Each gene tells the plant to make a protein bearing the same name as the gene. These
proteins are like little engines that drive certain processes inside the plant.
To start with, when the sun rises the relevant instructions tell the plant to make the CCA1 and LHY proteins.
When these are being made the plant knows that it is daytime. These two proteins prevent the plant from
making TOC1. In the afternoon the plant destroys CCA1 and LHY, which allows TOC1 to be made. When
there is lots of TOC1 the plant knows it is night time. TOC1 is destroyed just before dawn, but the last job it
does is to tell the plant to make CCA1 and LHY, starting the whole process off again.
This complicated feedback loop is actually only the central part of a network of interacting genes but it acts
like the tiny cogs on the inside of a watch that move the hands around.
Of course all this activity is well hidden inside the plant and it's not easy to get physical evidence of it.
However we can play smart by coupling the activity of CCA1 with a sort of "glow-in-the-dark" luminous
marker. Such a marker is found in fireflies. The pulse of light generated by a firefly is the result of the activity
of a gene inside the fly called Luciferase. We have replicated this gene, and inside the plant have linked it to
the CCA1 gene. So under certain conditions, we can see light coming from the plant as a consequence of
CCA1 activity. The intensity of this light equals the activity of the gene: high intensity equals high gene
activity. Check out the movie!

Does the plant do it alone?

This complex system of interactions between genes is not isolated inside the plant. Of course there are
seasonal changes in day length as we spoke about before, so the clock must stay in synch with the
changing dawn and dusk times. Certain genes in the plant's clock manual can detect light and feed
information into the clock. The clock can then reset itself to the new dawn and dusk times. This process is
called "Entrainment". Other inputs from the environment that help to entrain the plant are temperature and
the availability of certain nutrients required by the plant. These inputs favour the activation of certain genes.
Click here to see a summary of a plant's internal clock and some of the circadian rhythms it controls.