Cryptochrome
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Circadian Rhythms and Sleep in <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i> Open
The advantages of the model organism Drosophila melanogaster, including low genetic redundancy, functional simplicity, and the ability to conduct large-scale genetic screens, have been essential for understanding the molecular nature of ci…
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Photoreceptor-mediated regulation of the COP1/SPA E3 ubiquitin ligase Open
Plants have evolved specific photoreceptors that capture informational cues from sunlight. The phytochrome, cryptochrome, and UVR8 photoreceptors perceive red/far-red, blue/UV-A, and UV-B light, respectively, and control overlapping photom…
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Mechanisms of Cryptochrome-Mediated Photoresponses in Plants Open
Cryptochromes are blue-light receptors that mediate photoresponses in plants. The genomes of most land plants encode two clades of cryptochromes, CRY1 and CRY2, which mediate distinct and overlapping photoresponses within the same species …
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The quantum needle of the avian magnetic compass Open
Significance Billions of birds fly thousands of kilometers every year between their breeding and wintering grounds, helped by an extraordinary ability to detect the direction of the Earth’s magnetic field. The biophysical sensory mechanism…
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Light Signaling, Root Development, and Plasticity Open
Light signaling can affect root development and plasticity, either directly or through shoot-root communication via sugars, hormones, light, or other mobile factors.
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A Cryptochrome 2 mutation yields advanced sleep phase in humans Open
Familial Advanced Sleep Phase (FASP) is a heritable human sleep phenotype characterized by very early sleep and wake times. We identified a missense mutation in the human Cryptochrome 2 ( CRY2 ) gene that co-segregates with FASP in one fam…
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Phototropin perceives temperature based on the lifetime of its photoactivated state Open
Significance Living organisms perceive temperature using thermosensory molecules. In this study, we found that phototropin, a blue-light photoreceptor, perceives temperature via a mechanism based on the photoactivated chromophore’s lifetim…
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Optogenetic protein clustering through fluorescent protein tagging and extension of CRY2 Open
Protein homo-oligomerization is an important molecular mechanism in many biological processes. Therefore, the ability to control protein homo-oligomerization allows the manipulation and interrogation of numerous cellular events. To achieve…
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How light affects the life of Botrytis Open
Fungi, like other organisms, actively sense the environmental light conditions in order to drive adaptive responses, including protective mechanisms against the light-associated stresses, and to regulate development. Ecological niches are …
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Mammalian Period represses and de-represses transcription by displacing CLOCK–BMAL1 from promoters in a Cryptochrome-dependent manner Open
Significance The mammalian circadian clock is controlled by a transcription-translation feedback loop consisting of transcriptional activators circadian locomotor output cycles kaput (CLOCK)–brain and muscle Arnt-like protein-1 (BMAL1), wh…
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Transcriptional regulatory network of the light signaling pathways Open
Summary The developmental program by which plants respond is tightly controlled by a complex cascade in which photoreceptors perceive and transduce the light signals that drive signaling processes and direct the transcriptional reprogrammi…
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<i>Arabidopsis</i> cryptochrome 1 functions in nitrogen regulation of flowering Open
Significance Overapplication of nitrogen (N) fertilizer causes delayed flowering and negatively impacts the function and composition of natural ecosystems and climate. In this study, we demonstrate that flowering time variations regulated …
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Chemical and structural analysis of a photoactive vertebrate cryptochrome from pigeon Open
Computational and biochemical studies implicate the blue-light sensor cryptochrome (CRY) as an endogenous light-dependent magnetosensor enabling migratory birds to navigate using the Earth’s magnetic field. Validation of such a mechanism h…
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Transduction of the Geomagnetic Field as Evidenced from alpha-Band Activity in the Human Brain Open
Magnetoreception, the perception of the geomagnetic field, is a sensory modality well-established across all major groups of vertebrates and some invertebrates, but its presence in humans has been tested rarely, yielding inconclusive resul…
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Light signalling shapes plant–plant interactions in dense canopies Open
Plants growing at high densities interact via a multitude of pathways. Here, we provide an overview of mechanisms and functional consequences of plant architectural responses initiated by light cues that occur in dense vegetation. We will …
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Magnetoreception in birds Open
Birds can use two kinds of information from the geomagnetic field for navigation: the direction of the field lines as a compass and probably magnetic intensity as a component of the navigational ‘map’. The direction of the magnetic field a…
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Light in the Fungal World: From Photoreception to Gene Transcription and Beyond Open
Fungi see light of different colors by using photoreceptors such as the White Collar proteins and cryptochromes for blue light, opsins for green light, and phytochromes for red light. Light regulates fungal development, promotes the accumu…
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A Neural Network Underlying Circadian Entrainment and Photoperiodic Adjustment of Sleep and Activity in Drosophila Open
In animals, circadian clocks have evolved to orchestrate the timing of behavior and metabolism. Consistent timing requires the entrainment these clocks to the solar day, a process that is critical for an organism's health. Light cycles are…
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Photoexcited CRYPTOCHROME1 Interacts with Dephosphorylated BES1 to Regulate Brassinosteroid Signaling and Photomorphogenesis in Arabidopsis Open
Cryptochromes (CRYs) are blue light photoreceptors that mediate a variety of light responses in plants and animals, including photomorphogenesis, flowering, and circadian rhythms. The signaling mechanism by which Arabidopsis thaliana crypt…
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Formation of a repressive complex in the mammalian circadian clock is mediated by the secondary pocket of CRY1 Open
Significance Circadian rhythms depend upon the precise coordination of protein interactions within the transcription–translation feedback loop of the molecular clock. Period (PER) and cryptochrome (CRY) rhythmically repress activity of the…
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Electron spin relaxation in cryptochrome-based magnetoreception Open
The magnetic compass sense of migratory birds is thought to rely on magnetically sensitive radical pairs formed photochemically in cryptochrome proteins in the retina. Here we assess the impact of protein dynamics on the sensitivity of the…
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Understanding CRY2 interactions for optical control of intracellular signaling Open
Arabidopsis cryptochrome 2 (CRY2) can simultaneously undergo light-dependent CRY2–CRY2 homo-oligomerization and CRY2–CIB1 hetero-dimerization, both of which have been widely used to optically control intracellular processes. Applications u…
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Perception of solar UV radiation by plants: photoreceptors and mechanisms Open
About 95% of the ultraviolet (UV) photons reaching the Earth’s surface are UV-A (315–400 nm) photons. Plant responses to UV-A radiation have been less frequently studied than those to UV-B (280–315 nm) radiation. Most previous studies on U…
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TCP Transcription Factors Associate with PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR 4 and CRYPTOCHROME 1 to Regulate Thermomorphogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana Open
Temperature, one of the most critical environmental cues, greatly affects plant growth, development, and reproduction. PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR 4 (PIF4), a key transcription factor in light signaling pathway, plays a central role in …
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Cryptochrome 2 mediates directional magnetoreception in cockroaches Open
Significance The photosensitive protein Cryptochrome (Cry) is involved in the detection of magnetic fields (MFs) in Drosophila . However, Cry-dependent responses to natural MF intensities and to the direction of the MF vector have not been…
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Animal Cryptochromes: Divergent Roles in Light Perception, Circadian Timekeeping and Beyond Open
Cryptochromes are evolutionarily related to the light‐dependent DNA repair enzyme photolyase, serving as major regulators of circadian rhythms in insects and vertebrate animals. There are two types of cryptochromes in the animal kingdom: D…
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Circadian repressors CRY1 and CRY2 broadly interact with nuclear receptors and modulate transcriptional activity Open
Significance Nuclear receptors (NRs) are ligand-sensing transcription factors that are crucial for the proper regulation of mammalian development, physiology, and metabolism. Their ligand-binding capability makes NRs attractive drug target…
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Phylogenetic and Functional Classification of the Photolyase/Cryptochrome Family Open
The photolyase/cryptochrome ( PHR / CRY ) family is a large group of proteins with similar structure but very diverge functions such as DNA repair, circadian clock resetting and regulation of transcription. As a result of advances in the b…
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Clock-dependent chromatin topology modulates circadian transcription and behavior Open
The circadian clock in animals orchestrates widespread oscillatory gene expression programs, which underlie 24-h rhythms in behavior and physiology. Several studies have shown the possible roles of transcription factors and chromatin marks…
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Photoreceptor Mediated Plant Growth Responses: Implications for Photoreceptor Engineering toward Improved Performance in Crops Open
Rising temperatures during growing seasons coupled with altered precipitation rates presents a challenging task of improving crop productivity for overcoming such altered weather patterns and cater to a growing population. Light is a criti…