Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Photoreceptors and Plant Responses to Light02:00

Photoreceptors and Plant Responses to Light

Light plays a significant role in regulating the growth and development of plants. In addition to providing energy for photosynthesis, light provides other important cues to regulate a range of developmental and physiological responses in plants.
Cell Signaling in Plants01:25

Cell Signaling in Plants

Plant cells communicate to coordinate their cycle of growth, flowering and fruiting, and activities in roots, shoots, and leaves in response to the changing environmental conditions. Plant signaling is distinct from animal signaling. Plants primarily utilize enzyme-linked receptors, whereas the largest class of cell-surface receptors in animals are G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Unlike animals, receptor tyrosine kinases are rare in plants. Instead, plants have a diverse class of...
Channel Rhodopsins01:11

Channel Rhodopsins

Most organisms use photoreceptors to sense and respond to light. Examples of photoreceptors include bacteriorhodopsins and bacteriophytochromes in some bacteria, phytochromes in plants, and rhodopsins in the photoreceptor cells of the vertebral retina. The light-sensitive property of these receptors is because of the bound chromophores, such as bilin in the phytochromes and retinal in the rhodopsins.
Rhodopsins belong to the family of cell surface proteins called G-protein coupled receptors,...
Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways01:22

Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways

At the molecular level, visual signals trigger transformations in photopigment molecules, resulting in changes in the photoreceptor cell's membrane potential. The photon's energy level is denoted by its wavelength, with each specific wavelength of visible light associated with a distinct color. The spectral range of visible light, classified as electromagnetic radiation, spans from 380 to 720 nm. Electromagnetic radiation wavelengths exceeding 720 nm fall under the infrared category, whereas...
The Retina01:32

The Retina

The retina is a layer of nervous tissue at the back of the eye that transduces light into neural signals. This process, called phototransduction, is carried out by rod and cone photoreceptor cells in the back of the retina.
Biological Clocks and Seasonal Responses02:45

Biological Clocks and Seasonal Responses

The circadian—or biological—clock is an intrinsic, timekeeping, molecular mechanism that allows plants to coordinate physiological activities over 24-hour cycles called circadian rhythms. Photoperiodism is a collective term for the biological responses of plants to variations in the relative lengths of dark and light periods. The period of light-exposure is called the photoperiod.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Helicobacter pylori outer membrane vesicle-induced hsa-miR-302a-3p and hsa-miR-184 promote the occurrence and development of gastric cancer.

Brazilian journal of medical and biological research = Revista brasileira de pesquisas medicas e biologicas·2026
Same author

Multicomponent Synergistic Optimization of Thermoelectric Properties in PVDF-HFP Ionogels.

Chemistry, an Asian journal·2026
Same author

A negative regulator of mitochondrial complex I assembly adapts respiration to cellular energy demand.

Molecular cell·2026
Same author

Metabolomic signatures of brain aging: A multimodal and genetic study.

Molecular psychiatry·2026
Same author

A large-scale human plasma metabolite atlas from over 380,000 participants.

Communications biology·2026
Same author

Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and incident depression: an exploratory multi-omics analysis of candidate biological mediators.

Nutrition journal·2026

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Determination of Photoreceptor Cell Spectral Sensitivity in an Insect Model from In Vivo Intracellular Recordings
08:33

Determination of Photoreceptor Cell Spectral Sensitivity in an Insect Model from In Vivo Intracellular Recordings

Published on: February 26, 2016

Sensing and responding to excess light.

Zhirong Li1, Setsuko Wakao, Beat B Fischer

  • 1Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.

Annual Review of Plant Biology
|July 7, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Photosynthetic organisms sense and respond to excess light using direct photoreceptor signals and indirect metabolic cues. These mechanisms prevent damage and enable acclimation to changing light conditions.

More Related Videos

Robotic Sensing and Stimuli Provision for Guided Plant Growth
08:02

Robotic Sensing and Stimuli Provision for Guided Plant Growth

Published on: July 1, 2019

An Optogenetic Method to Control and Analyze Gene Expression Patterns in Cell-to-cell Interactions
07:59

An Optogenetic Method to Control and Analyze Gene Expression Patterns in Cell-to-cell Interactions

Published on: March 22, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Determination of Photoreceptor Cell Spectral Sensitivity in an Insect Model from In Vivo Intracellular Recordings
08:33

Determination of Photoreceptor Cell Spectral Sensitivity in an Insect Model from In Vivo Intracellular Recordings

Published on: February 26, 2016

Robotic Sensing and Stimuli Provision for Guided Plant Growth
08:02

Robotic Sensing and Stimuli Provision for Guided Plant Growth

Published on: July 1, 2019

An Optogenetic Method to Control and Analyze Gene Expression Patterns in Cell-to-cell Interactions
07:59

An Optogenetic Method to Control and Analyze Gene Expression Patterns in Cell-to-cell Interactions

Published on: March 22, 2018

Area of Science:

  • Plant biology
  • Photosynthesis research
  • Photobiology

Background:

  • Photosynthetic organisms can absorb excessive light, risking photo-oxidative damage.
  • Acclimation to environmental changes, especially light intensity, is crucial for survival.
  • Existing mechanisms for sensing and responding to light are vital for photosynthetic health.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the direct and indirect mechanisms plants and algae use to sense and respond to excess light.
  • To understand how these responses contribute to photoacclimation and prevent cellular damage.
  • To highlight the roles of photoreceptors and signaling pathways in light stress management.

Main Methods:

  • Investigated direct light sensing by photoreceptors like phototropin, neochrome, and cryptochrome.
  • Examined indirect sensing pathways involving biochemical and metabolic signals.
  • Analyzed signal transduction leading to chloroplast movement, gene expression changes, and systemic responses.

Main Results:

  • Photoreceptors directly sense excess light, initiating responses like chloroplast movement.
  • Biochemical and metabolic signals trigger responses within chloroplasts, nucleus (via retrograde signaling), and systemically.
  • These sensing and response pathways are integral to photoacclimation.

Conclusions:

  • Plants and algae possess sophisticated systems for managing excess light exposure.
  • Both direct photoreceptor-mediated and indirect metabolic signaling are critical for photoprotection and acclimation.
  • Understanding these pathways offers insights into optimizing plant resilience in variable light environments.