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Structure and Mechanism of Phytochrome
Author(s) -
Forest Katrina T.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.23.1_supplement.432.1
Subject(s) - phytochrome , tetrapyrrole , chromophore , mechanism (biology) , biophysics , chemistry , biology , biochemistry , botany , red light , physics , enzyme , photochemistry , quantum mechanics
The strongly conserved phytochrome photoreceptor has been studied for more than 50 years because of its central role in plant adaptations to varying light quality, with important implications in agriculture. More recently, microbial phytochromes have been discovered and have allowed us to make great strides in understanding the molecular nature of these tetrapyrrole‐containing light sensors. Several x‐ray crystal structures combined with molecular biology, biochemistry, and spectroscopy have revealed the knotted fold of the phytochrome protein and its interactions with its buried chromophore, as well as the critical nature of many of the conserved amino acids within the phytochrome family in the photocycle.