Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-19-2010

Publication Title

Eukaryotic Cell

Department

Geisel School of Medicine

Abstract

In plants and animals, cryptochromes function as either photoreceptors or circadian clock components. We have examined the cryptochrome from the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa and demonstrate that Neurospora cry encodes a DASH-type cryptochrome that appears capable of binding flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) and methenyltetrahydrofolate (MTHF). The cry transcript and CRY protein levels are strongly induced by blue light in a wc-1-dependent manner, and cry transcript is circadianly regulated, with a peak abundance opposite in phase to frq. Neither deletion nor overexpression of cry appears to perturb the free-running circadian clock. However, cry disruption knockout mutants show a small phase delay under circadian entrainment. Using electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA), we show that CRY is capable of binding single- and double-stranded DNA (ssDNA and dsDNA, respectively) and ssRNA and dsRNA. Whole-genome microarray experiments failed to identify substantive transcriptional regulatory activity of cry under our laboratory conditions.

DOI

10.1128/EC.00380-09

Original Citation

Froehlich AC, Chen CH, Belden WJ, Madeti C, Roenneberg T, Merrow M, Loros JJ, Dunlap JC. Genetic and molecular characterization of a cryptochrome from the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa. Eukaryot Cell. 2010 May;9(5):738-50. doi: 10.1128/EC.00380-09. Epub 2010 Mar 19. PMID: 20305004; PMCID: PMC2863965.

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