Stop CRYing! Inhibition of cryptochrome function by small proteins.
Valdeko Kruusvee1,2, Arendse Maria Toft1, Blanche Aguida3
1Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871 Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
Biochemical Society Transactions
|March 21, 2022
Summary
Plant cryptochromes, crucial for sensing blue and UV-A light, are regulated by small inhibitory proteins. This novel mechanism impacts plant growth, flowering, and fruit production, with potential agricultural applications.
Area of Science:
- Plant molecular biology and photobiology.
- Focus on photoreceptor regulation and its impact on plant development.
Background:
- Plants utilize specialized photoreceptors, including cryptochromes (CRY1 and CRY2), to detect light spectra (blue and UV-A) and intensity.
- Cryptochromes are involved in diverse physiological processes like hypocotyl elongation, flowering time, and magnetoreception.
- Established mechanisms of cryptochrome activation involve light-induced conformational changes, flavin reduction, and oligomerization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the lesser-known regulatory mechanism of plant cryptochromes unique to plants.
- To describe how small proteins inhibit cryptochrome activity by preventing light-induced dimerization.
- To discuss the implications of this inhibition on economically important plant traits and potential applications.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on cryptochrome activation, signaling, and regulation.
- Focus on studies detailing the interaction between cryptochromes and small inhibitory proteins.
- Synthesis of information regarding the functional consequences of this regulatory pathway.
Main Results:
- Identified a unique plant-specific mechanism where small proteins inhibit cryptochrome function by blocking light-induced dimerization.
- This inhibition significantly alters key agricultural traits, including plant growth, flowering time, and fruit yield.
- The review consolidates knowledge on cryptochrome activation and signaling, emphasizing modulation by endogenous and artificial inhibitors.
Conclusions:
- Small protein-mediated inhibition represents a critical, yet understudied, layer of cryptochrome regulation in plants.
- Understanding this mechanism offers significant potential for biotechnological and agricultural advancements.
- Targeting this pathway could lead to improved crop yields and desirable plant characteristics.
More Related Videos
12:35Author Spotlight: Optogenetic Inhibition of Rho1-Mediated Actomyosin Contractility Coupled with Measurement of Epithelial Tension in Drosophila Embryos
Published on: April 14, 2023
1.5K
07:55Luciferase Complementation Imaging Assay in Nicotiana benthamiana Leaves for Transiently Determining Protein-protein Interaction Dynamics
Published on: November 20, 2017
14.2K
Related Concept Videos
02:34Inhibition of Cdk Activity
5.0K
The orderly progression of the cell cycle depends on the activation of Cdk protein by binding to its cyclin partner. However, the cell cycle must be restricted when undergoing abnormal changes. Most cancers correlate to the deregulated cell cycle, and since Cdks are a central component of the cell cycle, Cdk inhibitors are extensively studied to develop anticancer agents. For instance, cyclin D associates with several Cdks, such as Cdk 4/6, to form an active complex. The cyclin D-Cdk4/6 complex...
5.0K
01:52Eukaryotic Transcription Inhibitors
10.0K
Certain biochemical processes, such as embryonic development and cell growth regulation, depend on the repression of specific genes. DNA binding proteins known as eukaryotic transcription inhibitors regulate the repression of gene expression in eukaryotes. The presence of these inhibitors at the required location and time in the cell is triggered by the presence of hormones and additional signals from other cells.
Eukaryotic transcription inhibitors usually contain two distinct domains, a...
Eukaryotic transcription inhibitors usually contain two distinct domains, a...
10.0K
02:19Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation
4.2K
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...
4.2K
01:23Negative Regulator Molecules
36.3K
Positive regulators allow a cell to advance through cell cycle checkpoints. Negative regulators have an equally important role as they terminate a cell’s progression through the cell cycle—or pause it—until the cell meets specific criteria.
36.3K
02:45Biological Clocks and Seasonal Responses
39.4K
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.
39.4K
01:45Regulation of Nuclear Protein Sorting
2.5K
Nuclear protein sorting regulates nucleus composition and gene expression, crucial for determining the fate of a eukaryotic cell. Hence, the entry and exit of molecules across the nuclear envelope is a tightly controlled process. Nuclear protein sorting can be inhibited by one of the following ways: 1) masking cargo signal sequences, 2) modifying the nuclear receptor's affinity for cargo, 3) controlling the nuclear pore size, 4) retaining the cargo during its transit to the cytosol or the...
2.5K