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Photolyase/cryptochrome blue-light photoreceptors use photon energy to repair DNA and reset the circadian clock

Oncogene volume 21, pages 9043–9056 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

Blue light governs a number of cellular responses in bacteria, plants, and animals, including photoreactivation, plant development, and circadian photoentrainment. These activities are mediated by a family of highly conserved flavoproteins, the photolyase/cryptochrome family. Photolyase binds to UV photoproducts in DNA and repairs them in a process called photoreactivation in which blue light is used to initiate a cyclic electron transfer to break bonds and restore the integrity of DNA. Cryptochrome, which has a high degree of sequence identity to photolyase, works as the main circadian photoreceptor and as a component of the molecular clock in animals, including mammals, and regulates growth and development in plants.

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  1. Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, 27599, North Carolina, NC, USA

    Carol L Thompson & Aziz Sancar

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Correspondence to Aziz Sancar.

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Thompson, C., Sancar, A. Photolyase/cryptochrome blue-light photoreceptors use photon energy to repair DNA and reset the circadian clock. Oncogene 21, 9043–9056 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1205958

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