Journal
FEBS JOURNAL
Volume 277, Issue 5, Pages 1182-1201Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/j.1742-4658.2009.07552.x
Keywords
optical waveguide; photosensor; Porifera; sponges; Suberites domuncula
Categories
Funding
- Bundesministerium fur Bildung und Forschung Germany
- International Human Frontier Science Program
- European Commission
- International S & T Cooperation Program of China [2008DFA00980]
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [50402023]
- European Commission [MRTN-CT-2004-512301]
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [WI 2116/2-2]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Based on the light-reactive behavior of siliceous sponges, their intriguing quartz glass-based spicular system and the existence of a light-generating luciferase [Muller WEG et al. (2009) Cell Mol Life Sci 66, 537-552], a protein potentially involved in light reception has been identified, cloned and recombinantly expressed from the demosponge Suberites domuncula. Its sequence displays two domains characteristic of cryptochrome, the N-terminal photolyase-related region and the C-terminal FAD-binding domain. The expression level of S. domuncula cryptochrome depends on animal's exposure to light and is highest in tissue regions rich in siliceous spicules; in the dark, no cryptochrome transcripts/translational products are seen. From the experimental data, it is proposed that sponges might employ a luciferase-like protein, the spicular system and a cryptochrome as the light source, optical waveguide and photosensor, respectively.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available