Department of Physics, University of Parma, Parma, Italy.
Photochem Photobiol. 2011 May-Jun;87(3):491-510. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-1097.2011.00913.x. Epub 2011 Mar 23.
The knowledge on the mechanisms by which blue light (BL) is sensed by diverse and numerous organisms, and of the physiological responses elicited by the BL photoreceptors, has grown remarkably during the last two decades. The basis for this "blue revival" was set by the identification and molecular characterization of long sought plant BL sensors, employing flavins as chromophores, chiefly cryptochromes and phototropins. The latter photosensors are the foundation members of the so-called light, oxygen, voltage (LOV)-protein family, largely spread among archaea, bacteria, fungi and plants. The accumulation of sequenced microbial genomes during the last years has added the BLUF (Blue Light sensing Using FAD) family to the BL photoreceptors and yielded the opportunity for intense "genome mining," which has presented to us the intriguing wealth of BL sensing in prokaryotes. In this contribution we provide an update of flavin-based BL sensors of the LOV and BLUF type, from prokaryotic microorganisms, with special emphasis to their light-activation pathways and molecular signal-transduction mechanisms. Rather than being a fully comprehensive review, this research collects the most recent discoveries and aims to unveil and compare signaling pathways and mechanisms of BL sensors.
在过去的二十年中，人们对不同生物感受蓝光（BL）的机制以及 BL 光感受器引发的生理反应的认识有了显著的增长。这种“蓝光复兴”的基础是确定和分子特征鉴定长期以来一直寻求的植物 BL 传感器，这些传感器采用黄素作为生色团，主要是隐花色素和向光素。后者是所谓的光、氧、电压（LOV）-蛋白家族的基础成员，广泛存在于古细菌、细菌、真菌和植物中。近年来，测序微生物基因组的积累将 BLUF（利用 FAD 进行蓝光感应）家族添加到 BL 光感受器中，并为我们提供了进行强烈的“基因组挖掘”的机会，这为我们呈现了原核生物中 BL 感应的丰富性。在本研究中，我们提供了来自原核微生物的 LOV 和 BLUF 型基于黄素的 BL 传感器的最新更新，特别强调了它们的光激活途径和分子信号转导机制。本研究不是一个全面的综述，而是收集了最新的发现，旨在揭示和比较 BL 传感器的信号转导途径和机制。
