AKIN10 activity as a cellular link between metabolism and circadian-clock entrainment in Arabidopsis thaliana.

AKIN10, the catalytic subunit of the Snf1 (sucrose non-fermenting 1)-related kinase 1 (SnRK1) complex, acts as an energy sensor in plants. We showed that AKIN10-induced expression affects the pace of the circadian clock and particularly the phase of expression of GIGANTEA (GI). The AKIN10 effect on period length required TIME FOR COFFEE (TIC), a circadian-clock component with developmental and metabolic roles. Here we expand on the possible interactions between AKIN10, whose activity is involved in transcriptional reprogramming, and clock elements GI and TIC. We hypothesize how they could participate in clock entrainment through a metabolic signal derived from carbon pools and starch metabolism. Additionally, we consider further the role of cellular energy status to the clock through the formation of a hypothetical protein complex. We also demonstrate the role of AKIN10, but not its sequence-related kinase AKIN11, on clock periodicity. Altogether we present a model of action of these elements in metabolic-related clock entrainment.