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Related Concept Videos

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...
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.
Anatomy of the Eyeball01:20

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The eye is a spherical, hollow structure composed of three tissue layers. The outer layer — the fibrous tunic, comprises the sclera — a white structure — and the cornea, which is transparent. The sclera encompasses some of the ocular surface, most of which is not visible. However, the 'white of the eye' is distinctively visible in humans compared to other species. The cornea, a clear covering at the front of the eye, enables light penetration. The eye's middle layer, the vascular tunic,...
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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.
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,...

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Decoding darkness by seeking photoreceptor functions with and without light.

Desheng Zeng1, Hongtao Liu2

  • 1Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for Plant Epigenetics, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of High-Efficiency Utilization of Light in Plants, College of Life Sciences and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China.

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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Plants use photoreceptors to respond to light. New research shows these photoreceptors also control plant development in darkness, revealing light and dark as complex regulators.

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Area of Science:

  • Plant biology
  • Photoreceptor signaling
  • Plant development

Background:

  • Plants utilize photoreceptors to perceive environmental light cues for growth and development.
  • Research traditionally focuses on the photoexcited state of photoreceptors, overlooking their dark functions.
  • Emerging evidence indicates non-photoexcited photoreceptors have distinct biological roles in darkness.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review current knowledge on photoreceptor-mediated plant development in darkness.
  • To categorize mechanisms of photon-dependent modulation of photoreceptor activity.
  • To propose an integrated model of photoreceptor function considering both light and dark states.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review and synthesis of existing studies on plant photoreceptors.
  • Analysis of experimental evidence for photoreceptor activity in both light and dark conditions.
  • Conceptual framework development integrating photoexcited and non-photoexcited photoreceptor functions.

Main Results:

  • Photoreceptors exhibit significant biological functions in the absence of light.
  • Dark-mediated functions of photoreceptors are diverse and crucial for plant development.
  • Light and darkness act as dynamic, multidimensional regulators of plant physiology.

Conclusions:

  • The role of non-photoexcited photoreceptors in darkness is critical and previously underestimated.
  • An expanded model integrating both photoexcited and non-photoexcited states is needed.
  • Rethinking the dichotomy of light and darkness reveals a more nuanced understanding of plant signaling.