The circadian clock and defence signalling in plants

The circadian clock is the internal time-keeping machinery in higher organisms. Cross-talk between the circadian clock and a diverse range of physiological processes in plants, including stress acclimatization, hormone signalling, photomorphogenesis and defence signalling, is currently being explored. Recent studies on circadian clock genes and genes involved in defence signalling have indicated a possible reciprocal interaction between the two. It has been proposed that the circadian clock shapes the outcome of plant-pathogen interactions. In this review, we highlight the studies carried out so far on two model plant pathogens, namely Pseudomonas syringae and Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis, and the involvement of the circadian clock in gating effector-triggered immunity and pathogen-associated molecular pattern-triggered immunity. We focus on how the circadian clock gates the expression of various stress-related transcripts in a prolific manner to enhance plant fitness. An understanding of this dynamic relationship between clock and stress will open up new avenues in the understanding of endogenous mechanisms of defence signalling in plants.