The ELF4-ELF3-LUX complex links the circadian clock to diurnal control of hypocotyl growth

The circadian clock is required for adaptive responses to daily and seasonal changes in environmental conditions(1-3). Light and the circadian clock interact to consolidate the phase of hypocotyl cell elongation to peak at dawn under diurnal cycles in Arabidopsis thaliana(4-7). Here we identify a protein complex (called the evening complex)-composed of the proteins encoded by EARLY FLOWERING 3 (ELF3), ELF4 and the transcription-factor-encoding gene LUX ARRHYTHMO (LUX; also known as PHYTOCLOCK 1)-that directly regulates plant growth(8-12). ELF3 is both necessary and sufficient to form a complex between ELF4 and LUX, and the complex is diurnally regulated, peaking at dusk. ELF3, ELF4 and LUX are required for the proper expression of the growth-promoting transcription factors encoded by PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR 4 (PIF4) and PIF5 (also known as PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR 3-LIKE 6) under diurnal conditions(4,6,13). LUX targets the complex to the promoters of PIF4 and PIF5 in vivo. Mutations in PIF4 and/or PIF5 are epistatic to the loss of the ELF4-ELF3-LUX complex, suggesting that regulation of PIF4 and PIF5 is a crucial function of the complex. Therefore, the evening complex underlies the molecular basis for circadian gating of hypocotyl growth in the early evening.