A blue-light-activated adenylyl cyclase mediates photoavoidance in Euglena gracilis

Mineo Iseki, Shigeru Matsunaga, Akio Murakami, Kaoru Ohno, Kiyoshi Shiga, Kazuichi Yoshida, Michizo Sugai, Tetsuo Takahashi, Terumitsu Hori and Masakatsu Watanabe ()
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Mineo Iseki: National Institute for Basic Biology
Shigeru Matsunaga: Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Tsukuba
Akio Murakami: Kobe University Research Center for Inland Seas
Kaoru Ohno: National Institute for Basic Biology
Kiyoshi Shiga: Kumamoto University School of Medicine, Honjo
Kazuichi Yoshida: National Institute for Basic Biology
Michizo Sugai: Faculty of Science, Toyama University
Tetsuo Takahashi: School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toho University, 2-2-1, Miyama
Terumitsu Hori: Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Tsukuba
Masakatsu Watanabe: National Institute for Basic Biology

Nature, 2002, vol. 415, issue 6875, 1047-1051

Abstract: Abstract Blue light regulates processes such as the development of plants and fungi and the behaviour of microbes1,2. Two types of blue-light receptor flavoprotein have been identified: cryptochromes, which have partial similarity to photolyases3,4, and phototropins, which are photoregulated protein kinases5,6. The former have also been found in animals with evidence of essential roles in circadian rhythms7,8. Euglena gracilis, a unicellular flagellate, abruptly changes its swimming direction after a sudden increase or decrease in incident blue light intensity, that is, step-up or step-down photophobic responses, resulting in photoavoidance or photoaccumulation, respectively9. Although these photobehaviours of Euglena have been studied for a century10, the photoreceptor molecules mediating them have remained unknown9. Here we report the discovery and biochemical characterization of a new type of blue-light receptor flavoprotein, photoactivated adenylyl cyclase, in the photoreceptor organelle of Euglena gracilis, with molecular genetic evidence that it mediates the step-up photophobic response.

Date: 2002
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DOI: 10.1038/4151047a

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