Molecular connections between circadian rhythm and genome maintenance pathways

Co-ordinated oscillation of mammalian circadian clock and cell cycle is essential for cellular and organismal homeostasis. Existing preclinical, epidemiological, molecular and biochemical evidence reveals a robust interplay between circadian clock, genome instability and cancer. Furthermore, recent investigations have demonstrated that the alterations in circadian clock perturb genome stability by modulating the cell-cycle timing, altering DNA replication fork progression, influencing DNA damage response (DDR) and DNA repair efficiency. In this review, we examine the most recent findings from different eukaryotic model systems and discuss the functional interaction between circadian factors with key DNA replication, DDR and DNA repair genes.