The molecular circadian clock orchestrates the daily cyclical expression of thousands of genes. Disruption of this transcriptional program leads to a variety of pathologies, including insomnia, depression and metabolic disorders. Circadian rhythms in gene expression rely on specific chromatin transitions which are ultimately coordinated by the molecular clock. As a consequence, a highly plastic and dynamic circadian epigenome can be delineated across different tissues and cell types. Intriguingly, genome topology appears to coordinate cyclic transcription at circadian interactomes, in which circadian genes are in physical contact within the cell nucleus in a time-specific manner. Moreover, the clock machinery shows functional interplays with key metabolic regulators, thereby connecting the circadian epigenome to cellular metabolism. Unraveling the molecular aspects of such interplays is likely to reveal new therapeutic strategies towards the treatment of metabolic disorders.
Keywords: Circadian rhythms; NAD+; chromatin; epigenetics; sirtuins.