Newly described components and regulatory mechanisms of circadian clock function in Arabidopsis thaliana.
The circadian clock temporally coordinates plant growth and metabolism in close synchronization with the diurnal and seasonal environmental changes. Research over the last decade has identified a number of clock components and a variety of regulatory mechanisms responsible for the rhythmic oscillations in metabolic and physiological activities. At the core of the clock, transcriptional/translational feedback loops modulate the expression of a significant proportion of the genome. In this article, we briefly describe some of the very recent advances that have improved our understanding of clock organization and function in Arabidopsis thaliana. The new studies illustrate the role of clock protein complex formation on circadian gating of plant growth and identify alternative splicing as a new regulatory mechanism for clock function. Examination of key clock properties such as temperature compensation has also opened new avenues for functional research within the plant clockwork. The emerging connections between the circadian clock and metabolism, hormone signaling and response to biotic and abiotic stress also add new layers of complexity to the clock network and underscore the significance of the circadian clock regulating the daily life of plants.
Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG), Parc de Recerca UAB, Edifici CRAG, Barcelona 08193, Spain.
Manuel Adrián
MA
Troncoso-Ponce
Paloma
P
Mas
D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D057906:Circadian Clocks / Q000235:genetics* / Q000528:radiation effects; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / Q000528:radiation effects; D008027:Light; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics / Q000528:radiation effects
D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins