Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 3, 2026
10:51
High-Throughput Robotically Assisted Isolation of Temperature-sensitive Lethal Mutants in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Published on: December 5, 2016
10.4K
An Animal-Like Cryptochrome Controls the Chlamydomonas Sexual Cycle
Yong Zou1, Sandra Wenzel1, Nico Müller1
1Institute of General Botany and Plant Physiology, Friedrich Schiller University, 07743 Jena, Germany.
Plant Physiology
|May 5, 2017
Summary
The animal-like cryptochrome (aCRY) in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii regulates its sexual life cycle. It promotes zygote germination but negatively controls mating ability and maintenance, acting with plant cryptochrome (pCRY).
Area of Science:
- * Plant and algal molecular biology
- * Photoreceptor research
- * Cellular signaling
Background:
- * Cryptochromes are flavin-binding blue light receptors found across diverse organisms.
- * The green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii possesses an animal-like cryptochrome (aCRY) responsive to blue and red light.
- * The sexual life cycle of C. reinhardtii is intricately regulated by light, particularly blue and red wavelengths.
Purpose of the Study:
- * To investigate the role of aCRY in regulating the sexual life cycle of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.
- * To determine the expression patterns and cellular localization of aCRY during different life cycle stages.
- * To elucidate aCRY's specific functions in gametogenesis, zygote germination, and mating.
Main Methods:
- * Analysis of aCRY gene expression across the C. reinhardtii life cycle.
- * Cellular fractionation to determine soluble and membrane-associated protein localization of aCRY.
- * Microscopic localization studies of aCRY in vegetative and reproductive cell types.
- * Functional assays assessing aCRY's impact on germination and mating phenotypes.
Main Results:
- * aCRY exhibits differential expression throughout the C. reinhardtii life cycle and varies in cellular localization (soluble/membrane-associated).
- * aCRY shows dynamic nuclear enrichment in vegetative cells (early day) and diffuses to the cell body in reproductive stages (pregamentetes, gametes).
- * aCRY positively regulates zygote germination, analogous to phototropin and plant cryptochrome (pCRY).
- * aCRY, in conjunction with pCRY, negatively regulates mating ability and maintenance, contrasting with phototropin's role.
Conclusions:
- * aCRY is a crucial regulator of the C. reinhardtii sexual cycle, influencing both germination and mating processes.
- * The differential expression and localization of aCRY highlight its dynamic role in cellular differentiation and light responses.
- * aCRY functions antagonistically to phototropin in mating regulation, revealing complex light-mediated signaling pathways in algal reproduction.
Related Concept Videos
01:11Channel Rhodopsins
3.4K
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,...
Rhodopsins belong to the family of cell surface proteins called G-protein coupled receptors,...
3.4K
02:19Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation
4.6K
The biological clock is involved in many aspects of regulating complex physiology in all animals. It was in 1935 when German zoologists, Hans Kalmus and Erwin Bünning, discovered the existence of circadian rhythm in Drosophila melanogaster. However, the internal molecular mechanisms behind the circadian clock remained a mystery until 1984, when Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash, and Michael W. Young discovered the expression of the Per gene oscillating over a 24-hour cycle. In subsequent...
4.6K
02:45Biological Clocks and Seasonal Responses
41.8K
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.
41.8K
01:29Bacterial Phylum Chlamydiae
674
The phylum Chlamydiae or Chlamydiota is composed of a single order, Chlamydiales. This phylum consists entirely of obligate intracellular parasites that infect eukaryotic hosts. While human pathogens within this group have been studied extensively, the phylum encompasses many species capable of interacting with various eukaryotic organisms. Members of Chlamydiae are typically small cocci, approximately 0.5 μm in diameter, and exhibit a distinctive developmental cycle. As is characteristic...
674
02:45The Ratio of X Chromosome to Autosomes
9.9K
In most organisms, sex is determined by the ratio of X and Y chromosomes. However, in some organisms, such as Drosophila and C.elegans, sex is determined by the ratio of the number of X chromosomes to the number of sets of autosomes. The Y chromosome in Drosophila is active but does not determine sex. It contains genes responsible for the production of sperms in adult flies.
Normal male Drosophila has a ratio of one X chromosome to two sets of autosomes. In contrast, normal female...
Normal male Drosophila has a ratio of one X chromosome to two sets of autosomes. In contrast, normal female...
9.9K
01:27Diversity of Protists II
1.5K
Alveolates are a group of organisms recognized by the presence of alveoli, which are cytoplasmic sacs located beneath the cell membrane. While their function remains uncertain, alveoli may help regulate water balance by controlling how much water enters and leaves the cell. In dinoflagellates, these structures may serve as armor plates. There are three major types of alveolates: ciliates, which move using cilia; dinoflagellates, which use flagella for movement; and apicomplexans, which are...
1.5K