[Research progresses in animal cryptochromes].

Animal cryptochromes are widely known to regulate circadian clock and can be divided into two types. Type I cryptochromes receive light to initiate the degradation of transcriptional inhibitors, whereas type II cryptochromes directly act as light-irresponsive transcriptional inhibitors. Recent studies reveal that animal cryptochromes also have functions in immune response and carbohydrate metabolism, and are required in light-induced chemical magnetoreception in animals like Drosophila. The further researches on animal cryptochromes will improve our understanding of magnetoreception and aid development of therapeutic treatment of diseases such as diabetes. In this review, we summarize the research progresses of animal cryptochromes, with an emphasis on its cloning, expression, and structural and functional studies.