Plant Circadian Rhythms

Circadian rhythms are ubiquitous in nature and represent an adaptation to the 24-hour rotation of the earth and the daily, rhythmic changes in light and temperature that this rotation entails. Various species ranging from bacteria to vertebrates have circadian clocks. In plants, proper entrainment of the endogenous clock with the environment can optimize biological activities to the best time during the diurnal cycle and ultimately maximize biomass and growth vigor. The clock precisely regulates many essential processes that occur at specific times during the diurnal cycle. Recently, many studies have revealed the importance of the circadian clock genes for key agronomic traits in diverse crop species.

Over the past decade, the circadian clock has been one of the most rapidly developing areas in plant biological research. Recently, rapid progress has been made in extending our understanding of the plant circadian clock from Arabidopsis to diverse crop species to improve agronomical traits. The main objective of this Research Topic is to provide valuable insight into the emerging roles of the circadian rhythms that regulate plant physiology, plant development and metabolism, particularly of key agronomical traits in crop species.

This Research Topic welcomes submissions on any aspect of this broad theme, including the following sub-topics:

• Circadian regulation of plant physiology and development
• Circadian control of abiotic and biotic stress
• Circadian outputs in metabolism
• Entrainment mechanisms of circadian clock
• Multiple layers of circadian regulation
• The circadian regulation in non-model plant species

We especially encourage studies in crops to elucidate the role of clock genes in regulating important agronomic traits. We encourage submissions of all article types, including original research, review, perspectives covering all aspects of plant circadian rhythms.