title: A Plant Cryptochrome Controls Key Features of theChlamydomonasCircadian Clock and Its Life Cycle.
abstract: Cryptochromes are flavin-binding proteins that act as blue light receptors in bacteria, fungi, plants, and insects and are components of the circadian oscillator in mammals. Animal and plant cryptochromes are evolutionarily divergent, although the unicellular algaChlamydomonas reinhardtii(Chlamydomonasthroughout) has both an animal-like cryptochrome and a plant cryptochrome (pCRY; formerly designated CPH1). Here, we show that the pCRY protein accumulates at night as part of a complex. Functional characterization of pCRY was performed based on an insertional mutant that expresses only 11% of the wild-type pCRY level. Thepcrymutant is defective for central properties of the circadian clock. In the mutant, the period is lengthened significantly, ultimately resulting in arrhythmicity, while blue light-based phase shifts show large deviations from what is observed in wild-type cells. We also show that pCRY is involved in gametogenesis inChlamydomonaspCRY is down-regulated in pregametes and gametes, and in thepcrymutant, there is altered transcript accumulation under blue light of the strictly light-dependent, gamete-specific geneGAS28pCRY acts as a negative regulator for the induction of mating ability in the light and for the loss of mating ability in the dark. Moreover, pCRY is necessary for light-dependent germination, during which the zygote undergoes meiosis that gives rise to four vegetative cells. In sum, our data demonstrate that pCRY is a key blue light receptor inChlamydomonasthat is involved in both circadian timing and life cycle progression.
authors.affiliation: Institute of General Botany and Plant Physiology, Friedrich Schiller University, 07743 Jena, Germany (N.M., S.W., Y.Z., S.K., S.S., D.W., K.P., M.M.).|Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, California 94305 (A.G.).|Physical and Biophysical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany (T.K.); and.|Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, 07745 Jena, Germany (S.S.).
authors.forename: Nico
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: Institute of General Botany and Plant Physiology, Friedrich Schiller University, 07743 Jena, Germany (N.M., S.W., Y.Z., S.K., S.S., D.W., K.P., M.M.).|Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, California 94305 (A.G.).|Physical and Biophysical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany (T.K.); and.|Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, 07745 Jena, Germany (S.S.).
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wenzel
authors.affiliation: Institute of General Botany and Plant Physiology, Friedrich Schiller University, 07743 Jena, Germany (N.M., S.W., Y.Z., S.K., S.S., D.W., K.P., M.M.).|Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, California 94305 (A.G.).|Physical and Biophysical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany (T.K.); and.|Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, 07745 Jena, Germany (S.S.).
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.affiliation: Institute of General Botany and Plant Physiology, Friedrich Schiller University, 07743 Jena, Germany (N.M., S.W., Y.Z., S.K., S.S., D.W., K.P., M.M.).|Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, California 94305 (A.G.).|Physical and Biophysical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany (T.K.); and.|Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, 07745 Jena, Germany (S.S.).
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Künzel
authors.affiliation: Institute of General Botany and Plant Physiology, Friedrich Schiller University, 07743 Jena, Germany (N.M., S.W., Y.Z., S.K., S.S., D.W., K.P., M.M.).|Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, California 94305 (A.G.).|Physical and Biophysical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany (T.K.); and.|Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, 07745 Jena, Germany (S.S.).
authors.forename: Severin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sasso
authors.affiliation: Institute of General Botany and Plant Physiology, Friedrich Schiller University, 07743 Jena, Germany (N.M., S.W., Y.Z., S.K., S.S., D.W., K.P., M.M.).|Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, California 94305 (A.G.).|Physical and Biophysical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany (T.K.); and.|Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, 07745 Jena, Germany (S.S.).
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Weiß
authors.affiliation: Institute of General Botany and Plant Physiology, Friedrich Schiller University, 07743 Jena, Germany (N.M., S.W., Y.Z., S.K., S.S., D.W., K.P., M.M.).|Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, California 94305 (A.G.).|Physical and Biophysical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany (T.K.); and.|Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, 07745 Jena, Germany (S.S.).
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Prager
authors.affiliation: Institute of General Botany and Plant Physiology, Friedrich Schiller University, 07743 Jena, Germany (N.M., S.W., Y.Z., S.K., S.S., D.W., K.P., M.M.).|Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, California 94305 (A.G.).|Physical and Biophysical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany (T.K.); and.|Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, 07745 Jena, Germany (S.S.).
authors.forename: Arthur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Grossman
authors.affiliation: Institute of General Botany and Plant Physiology, Friedrich Schiller University, 07743 Jena, Germany (N.M., S.W., Y.Z., S.K., S.S., D.W., K.P., M.M.).|Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, California 94305 (A.G.).|Physical and Biophysical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany (T.K.); and.|Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, 07745 Jena, Germany (S.S.).
authors.forename: Tilman
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kottke
authors.affiliation: Institute of General Botany and Plant Physiology, Friedrich Schiller University, 07743 Jena, Germany (N.M., S.W., Y.Z., S.K., S.S., D.W., K.P., M.M.); m.mittag@uni-jena.de.|Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, California 94305 (A.G.); m.mittag@uni-jena.de.|Physical and Biophysical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Bielefeld University, 33615 Bielefeld, Germany (T.K.); and m.mittag@uni-jena.de.|Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, 07745 Jena, Germany (S.S.) m.mittag@uni-jena.de.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3414-9850
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mittag
mesh_terms: D020418:Algal Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D016825:Chlamydomonas reinhardtii / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D057906:Circadian Clocks / Q000235:genetics*; D056931:Cryptochromes / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008018:Life Cycle Stages / Q000235:genetics*; D008027:Light; D009154:Mutation; D012098:Reproduction / Q000235:genetics / Q000528:radiation effects; D013170:Spores / Q000235:genetics / Q000528:radiation effects
chemical_list: D020418:Algal Proteins; D056931:Cryptochromes