title: Fungal Light Sensing at the Bench and Beyond.
abstract: Visible light is a pervasive environmental signal that orients most organisms in space and time. For a fungus, the detection of light is facilitated by diverse classes of photoreceptor proteins, which in turn coordinate growth, spore dispersal, stress resistance, primary metabolism, and toxin production. We will first provide a discussion on signal input, focusing on recent insights into how fungal photoreceptors detect and transmit information at the biochemical and molecular levels. We will then pivot our discussion to how light influences fungal behaviors that are of industrial, agricultural, or even medical relevance. Because the light environment can be easily manipulated in many contexts, we will argue that understanding fungal photobiology is both an important basic and applied endeavor.
authors.affiliation: Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, NH, United States.
authors.forename: K K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Fuller
authors.affiliation: Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, NH, United States.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Dunlap
authors.affiliation: Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, NH, United States.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Loros
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D056804:Biofuels; D061046:Biological Control Agents; D056931:Cryptochromes / Q000378:metabolism; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005658:Fungi / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D015966:Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal; D008027:Light; D055355:Opsins / Q000378:metabolism; D020283:Photoreceptors, Microbial / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels; D061046:Biological Control Agents; D056931:Cryptochromes; D005656:Fungal Proteins; D055355:Opsins; D020283:Photoreceptors, Microbial
keywords: Biocontrol; Biofuel; Cryptochrome; Fungal pathogenesis; Opsin; Photoreceptor; Phytochrome; White collar