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Phytochromes and light signal perception by plants—an emerging synthesis

Nature volume 407, pages 585–591 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

For plants, the sensing of light in the environment is as important as vision is for animals. Fluctuations in light can be crucial to competition and survival. One way plants sense light is through the phytochromes, a small family of diverse photochromic protein photoreceptors whose origins have been traced to the photosynthetic prokaryotes. During their evolution, the phytochromes have acquired sophisticated mechanisms to monitor light. Recent advances in understanding the molecular mechanisms of phytochromes and their significance to evolutionary biology make possible an interim synthesis of this rapidly advancing branch of photobiology.

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Figure 1: Diagram of phytochrome action.

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Acknowledgements

I thank the following for information and comment: J. Chory, M. Furuya, J. C. Lagarias, P. H. Quail, J. Schmitt, P.-S. Song. The author's research on shade avoidance was supported by the UK Natural Environment Research Council, the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the Council of the European Commission. The literature survey for this article was completed on 31 March 2000.

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    Harry Smith

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Smith, H. Phytochromes and light signal perception by plants—an emerging synthesis. Nature 407, 585–591 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35036500

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