Interactive roles of chromatin regulation and circadian clock function in plants

Circadian rhythms in transcription ultimately result in oscillations of key biological processes. Understanding how transcriptional rhythms are generated in plants provides an opportunity for fine-tuning growth, development, and responses to the environment. Here, we present a succinct description of the plant circadian clock, briefly reviewing a number of recent studies but mostly emphasizing the components and mechanisms connecting chromatin remodeling with transcriptional regulation by the clock. The possibility that intergenomic interactions govern hybrid vigor through epigenetic changes at clock loci and the function of epialleles controlling clock output traits during crop domestication are also discussed.