The involvement of cryptochromes in the light- and circadian signaling pathways in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

隐色素（CRYs）是一种黄素蛋白，在植物中充当感觉蓝光受体，从而介导蓝光的输入，以干扰生物钟。相比之下，哺乳动物的CRYs是昼夜节律振荡机制的组成部分。此外，还有dash型的CRYs，但其生物学功能仍在很大程度上未知。绿色双鞭毛藻莱茵衣藻（Chlamydomonas reinhardtii）中存在一种植物型（pCRY）和一种类动物型（aCRY）以及两种dash型（DASH-type） CRYs。我们发现aCRY既是一种感觉蓝光受体，也是一种感觉红光受体。这是一种新颖的黄素蛋白，特别是CRY。最近的数据也表明，C. reinhardtii的pCRY和aCRY在功能上是交织在一起的。我们将基于aCRY的光谱特性、潜在的光驱动DNA修复功能以及两种crry在C. reinhardtii生物钟中的详细作用，重点研究其在体内的信号转导机制。此外，我们将在不同的水平上研究这两种哭泣的相互作用以及dash型哭泣的功能。研究小组内跨学科科学专业知识的结合将使我们能够获得有关不同CRYs的光谱，分子生物学和结构特性的信息。

Cryptochromes (CRYs) are flavoproteins that act as sensory blue-light receptors in plants thereby mediating the input of blue light for the entrainment of the circadian clocks. In contrast, mammalian CRYs are components of the circadian oscillatory machinery. In addition, there are DASH-type CRYs, but their biological function is still largely unknown. In the green biflagellate alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, a plant (pCRY) and an animal-like CRY (aCRY) exist as well as two DASH-type CRYs. We discovered that aCRY functions as a sensory blue-light receptor as well as a sensory red-light receptor. This is novel for a flavoprotein in general and a CRY in particular. Recent data also indicate that pCRY and aCRY in C. reinhardtii are functionally intertwined. We will focus on the in vivo mechanism of signal transduction of aCRY based on its spectral properties, its potential light-driven DNA repair function and the detailed role of both CRYs within the circadian clock of C. reinhardtii. Moreover, we will investigate the interplay of both CRYs as well as the function of a DASH-type CRY at different levels. The combination of the interdisciplinary scientific expertises within the research group will allow us to gain information about the spectroscopic, molecular biological and structural properties of the different CRYs.