Photoregulation of biologically active macromolecules

A broad view is given of photoregulated processes as they occur in algae, fungi, halophilic bacteria, higher plants, invertebrates, and higher animals. Emphasis is on the following: the organs, tissues, and organelles that participate; the nature of the photoreceptor pigments; the light-induced structural changes that occur in the photopigments; and the way in which the photochemical events are believed to be translated into the physiological response. An attempt is made to show that there exist common biochemical attributes in all systems. In particular, they depend upon the ability of a low-molecular-weight to regulate a biologically active macromolecule, which may or may not be incorporated into a membrane. This is a common type of biochemical regulation and is, for example, the basis of allosterism. The additional refinement in photosensitive systems is the ability of light to alter the stereochemistry of the low-molecular-weight effector molecule and thus to modify its effect on the macromolecule. Model photosensitive systems are examined that incorporate control mechanisms that function in natural systems. For example, there are systems in which enzymes, normally insensitive to light, are made subject to photoregulation. In others, membrane permeability is rendered photoresponsive. A comparison of the model systems was processes found in nature permits the formulation of an hypothesis to explain how naturally occurring photoresponsive systems might have evolved.