Cryptochromes and circadian photoreception in animals
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Updated: Aug 18, 2026

In Vivo Monitoring of Circadian Clock Gene Expression in the Mouse Suprachiasmatic Nucleus Using Fluorescence Reporters
Published on: July 4, 2018
1Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA.
Abstract:
Cryptochromes are flavin- and folate-containing blue-light photoreceptors with a high degree of similarity to DNA photolyase, which repairs ultraviolet-induced DNA damage using blue light to initiate the repair reaction. Cryptochromes play essential roles in the maintenance of circadian rhythms in mice and Drosophila, and genetic data indicate that cryptochromes function as circadian photoreceptors in these and other animals. However, the photochemical reactions carried out by cryptochromes are not known at present.
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