RNA-based regulation in the plant circadian clock

Abstract

The circadian clock is an endogenous, approximately 24-h timer that enables plants to anticipate daily changes in their environment and regulates a considerable fraction of the transcriptome. At the core of the circadian system is the oscillator, made up of interconnected feedback loops, involving transcriptional regulation of clock genes and post-translational modification of clock proteins. Recently, it has become clear that post-transcriptional events are also critical for shaping rhythmic mRNA and protein profiles. This review covers regulation at the RNA level of both the core clock and output genes in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), with comparisons with other model organisms. We discuss the role of splicing, mRNA decay and translational regulation as well as recent insights into rhythms of noncoding regulatory RNAs.