Chromatin remodeling and alternative splicing: Pre- and post-transcriptional regulation of the Arabidopsis circadian clock

Circadian clocks are endogenous mechanisms that translate environmental cues into temporal information to generate the 24-h rhythms in metabolism and physiology. The circadian function relies on the precise regulation of rhythmic gene expression at the core of the oscillator, which temporally modulates the genome transcriptional activity in virtually all multicellular organisms examined to date. Emerging evidence in plants suggests a highly sophisticated interplay between the circadian patterns of gene expression and the rhythmic changes in chromatin remodeling and histone modifications. Alternative precursor messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) splicing has also been recently defined as a fundamental pillar within the circadian system, providing the required plasticity and specificity for fine-tuning the circadian clock. This review highlights the relationship between the plant circadian clock with both chromatin remodeling and alternative splicing and compares the similarities and divergences with analogous studies in animal circadian systems.

► Interplay between circadian gene expression and the rhythmic changes in chromatin remodeling.
► Alternative splicing provides plasticity and specificity for fine-tuning the circadian clock.
► Emerging evidence highlights new mechanisms responsible for pre-, co- and post-transcriptional regulation of circadian gene expression.