A single chromoprotein with triple chromophores acts as both a phytochrome and a phototropin.

ABSTRACT: Plants sense their environmental light conditions by using three photoreceptors that absorb in the UV, blue/near UV, and red/far-red spectral ranges. These photoreceptors have specific chromophore components corresponding to their absorption spectra. Phytochrome, a red/far-red light receptor, has phytochromobilin as its chromophore, whereas the blue/near UV photoreceptors cryptochrome and phototropin have a pair of flavin derivatives. Plants use these various photoreceptors to assess the surrounding light environment. Phytochrome 3 (PHY3) is a red light receptor found in some ferns, which preferentially grow under weak light. PHY3 is composed of a phytochrome chromophore-binding domain in its N-terminal portion and an almost full-length phototropin in its C-terminal half. This unusual doma

SUBMITTER: Kanegae T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1693861 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature