Journal article

Publication year: 2005

Pages: 13705-13709

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Volume number: 102

Issue number: 38

ISSN: 0027-8424

Open access status: Green

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0504734102

Publisher: National Academy of Sciences

Abstract: 
Although most plant species from algae to flowering plants use blue light for inducing phototropism and chloroplast movement, many ferns, some mosses, and green algae use red as well as blue light for the regulation of these responses, resulting in better sensitivity at low light levels. During their evolution, ferns have created a chimeric photoreceptor (phy3 in Adiantum) between phytochrome (phy) and phototropin (phot) enabling them to use red light effectively. We have identified two genes resembling Adiantum PHY3, NEOCHROME1 and NEOCHROME2 (MsNEO1 and MsNEO2), in the green alga Mougeotia scalaris, a plant famous for its light-regulated chloroplast movement. Like Adiantum PHY3, both MsNEO gene products show phytochrome-typical bilin binding and red/far-red reversibility, the difference spectra matching the known action spectra of light-induced chloroplast movement in Mougeotia. Furthermore, both genes rescue red-light-induced chloroplast movement in Adiantum phy3 mutants, indicating f unctional equivalence. However, the fern and algal genes seem to have arisen independently in evolution, thus providing an intriguing example of convergent evolution.

Harvard Citation style: Suetsugu, N., Mittmann, F., Wagner, G., Hughes, J. and Wada, M. (2005) A chimeric photoreceptor gene, NEOCHROME, has arisen twice during plant evolution, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 102(38), pp. 13705-13709. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0504734102

APA Citation style: Suetsugu, N., Mittmann, F., Wagner, G., Hughes, J., & Wada, M. (2005). A chimeric photoreceptor gene, NEOCHROME, has arisen twice during plant evolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 102(38), 13705-13709. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0504734102