• circadian
• clock
• hypoxia

Oxygen-sensing mechanism and hypoxia signalling and acclimation are topics of great interest in plant biology, especially under the current climate change scenario where extremes floodings events are more frequents causing huge agricultural losses. Moreover, hypoxia occurs also under optimal growing conditions in the plant, defining the concept of chronic hypoxia. This condition is constitutive and not stressful for the plant since is localized in proliferative tissues or meristems.
As mentioned before, circadian clock controls both plant growth-related processes and stress responses.
The objective of this thesis project is to demonstrate whether oxygen signalling regulates circadian clock rhythms, under both optimal growing and stressful conditions. Furthermore, it has been focusing on the molecular mechanism underling this regulation.
The interaction between oxygen signalling and circadian clock regulation has been not yet well studied, even if recent works suggest a functional link between them. For example, it has been observed that CCA1 circadian pattern was affected in the knockout mutant lacking the ERFVII transcription factors. Moreover, hypoxia treatment produced a delayed-phase of circadian.
The model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana was used for this work, but the long-term goal of this project will be to extend these studies to plant species of great economic interest.