Skip to main content
Plant Physiology logoLink to Plant Physiology
. 1993 Nov;103(3):679–684. doi: 10.1104/pp.103.3.679

Illuminating Phytochrome Functions (There Is Light at the End of the Tunnel).

R D Vierstra 1
PMCID: PMC159036  PMID: 12231971

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (701.7 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Algarra P., Linder S., Thümmler F. Biochemical evidence that phytochrome of the moss Ceratodon purpureus is a light-regulated protein kinase. FEBS Lett. 1993 Jan 2;315(1):69–73. doi: 10.1016/0014-5793(93)81135-m. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Boylan M. T., Quail P. H. Oat Phytochrome Is Biologically Active in Transgenic Tomatoes. Plant Cell. 1989 Aug;1(8):765–773. doi: 10.1105/tpc.1.8.765. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Boylan M. T., Quail P. H. Phytochrome a overexpression inhibits hypocotyl elongation in transgenic Arabidopsis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1991 Dec 1;88(23):10806–10810. doi: 10.1073/pnas.88.23.10806. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cherry J. R., Hershey H. P., Vierstra R. D. Characterization of Tobacco Expressing Functional Oat Phytochrome : Domains Responsible for the Rapid Degradation of Pfr Are Conserved between Monocots and Dicots. Plant Physiol. 1991 Jul;96(3):775–785. doi: 10.1104/pp.96.3.775. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Cherry J. R., Hondred D., Walker J. M., Keller J. M., Hershey H. P., Vierstra R. D. Carboxy-terminal deletion analysis of oat phytochrome A reveals the presence of separate domains required for structure and biological activity. Plant Cell. 1993 May;5(5):565–575. doi: 10.1105/tpc.5.5.565. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Cherry J. R., Hondred D., Walker J. M., Vierstra R. D. Phytochrome requires the 6-kDa N-terminal domain for full biological activity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1992 Jun 1;89(11):5039–5043. doi: 10.1073/pnas.89.11.5039. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Childs K. L., Cordonnier-Pratt M. M., Pratt L. H., Morgan P. W. Genetic Regulation of Development in Sorghum bicolor: VII. ma(3) Flowering Mutant Lacks a Phytochrome that Predominates in Green Tissue. Plant Physiol. 1992 Jun;99(2):765–770. doi: 10.1104/pp.99.2.765. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Chory J. Light signals in leaf and chloroplast development: photoreceptors and downstream responses in search of a transduction pathway. New Biol. 1991 Jun;3(6):538–548. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Chory J., Nagpal P., Peto C. A. Phenotypic and Genetic Analysis of det2, a New Mutant That Affects Light-Regulated Seedling Development in Arabidopsis. Plant Cell. 1991 May;3(5):445–459. doi: 10.1105/tpc.3.5.445. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Chory J., Peto C. A., Ashbaugh M., Saganich R., Pratt L., Ausubel F. Different Roles for Phytochrome in Etiolated and Green Plants Deduced from Characterization of Arabidopsis thaliana Mutants. Plant Cell. 1989 Sep;1(9):867–880. doi: 10.1105/tpc.1.9.867. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Chory J., Peto C., Feinbaum R., Pratt L., Ausubel F. Arabidopsis thaliana mutant that develops as a light-grown plant in the absence of light. Cell. 1989 Sep 8;58(5):991–999. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90950-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Deng X. W., Matsui M., Wei N., Wagner D., Chu A. M., Feldmann K. A., Quail P. H. COP1, an Arabidopsis regulatory gene, encodes a protein with both a zinc-binding motif and a G beta homologous domain. Cell. 1992 Nov 27;71(5):791–801. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(92)90555-q. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Dev BN. Comment on "Quantitative structural determination of metallic film growth on a semiconductor crystal: ( sqrt 3 x sqrt 3 )R30 degrees -->(1 x 1) Pb on Ge(111)". Phys Rev Lett. 1990 Mar 5;64(10):1182–1182. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.64.1182. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Devlin P. F., Rood S. B., Somers D. E., Quail P. H., Whitelam G. C. Photophysiology of the Elongated Internode (ein) Mutant of Brassica rapa: ein Mutant Lacks a Detectable Phytochrome B-Like Polypeptide. Plant Physiol. 1992 Nov;100(3):1442–1447. doi: 10.1104/pp.100.3.1442. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Dynlacht B. D., Weinzierl R. O., Admon A., Tjian R. The dTAFII80 subunit of Drosophila TFIID contains beta-transducin repeats. Nature. 1993 May 13;363(6425):176–179. doi: 10.1038/363176a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Frances S., White M. J., Edgerton M. D., Jones A. M., Elliott R. C., Thompson W. F. Initial characterization of a pea mutant with light-independent photomorphogenesis. Plant Cell. 1992 Dec;4(12):1519–1530. doi: 10.1105/tpc.4.12.1519. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Furuya M. Molecular properties and biogenesis of phytochrome I and II. Adv Biophys. 1989;25:133–167. doi: 10.1016/0065-227x(89)90006-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Hou Y., Von Arnim A. G., Deng X. W. A New Class of Arabidopsis Constitutive Photomorphogenic Genes Involved in Regulating Cotyledon Development. Plant Cell. 1993 Mar;5(3):329–339. doi: 10.1105/tpc.5.3.329. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Jabben M., Shanklin J., Vierstra R. D. Ubiquitin-phytochrome conjugates. Pool dynamics during in vivo phytochrome degradation. J Biol Chem. 1989 Mar 25;264(9):4998–5005. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Kay S. A., Nagatani A., Keith B., Deak M., Furuya M., Chua N. H. Rice Phytochrome Is Biologically Active in Transgenic Tobacco. Plant Cell. 1989 Aug;1(8):775–782. doi: 10.1105/tpc.1.8.775. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Keller J. M., Shanklin J., Vierstra R. D., Hershey H. P. Expression of a functional monocotyledonous phytochrome in transgenic tobacco. EMBO J. 1989 Apr;8(4):1005–1012. doi: 10.1002/j.1460-2075.1989.tb03467.x. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Kieber J. J., Rothenberg M., Roman G., Feldmann K. A., Ecker J. R. CTR1, a negative regulator of the ethylene response pathway in Arabidopsis, encodes a member of the raf family of protein kinases. Cell. 1993 Feb 12;72(3):427–441. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(93)90119-b. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Nagatani A., Reed J. W., Chory J. Isolation and Initial Characterization of Arabidopsis Mutants That Are Deficient in Phytochrome A. Plant Physiol. 1993 May;102(1):269–277. doi: 10.1104/pp.102.1.269. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Owen M., Gandecha A., Cockburn B., Whitelam G. Synthesis of a functional anti-phytochrome single-chain Fv protein in transgenic tobacco. Biotechnology (N Y) 1992 Jul;10(7):790–794. doi: 10.1038/nbt0792-790. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Parks B. M., Quail P. H. Phytochrome-Deficient hy1 and hy2 Long Hypocotyl Mutants of Arabidopsis Are Defective in Phytochrome Chromophore Biosynthesis. Plant Cell. 1991 Nov;3(11):1177–1186. doi: 10.1105/tpc.3.11.1177. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Parks B. M., Quail P. H. hy8, a new class of arabidopsis long hypocotyl mutants deficient in functional phytochrome A. Plant Cell. 1993 Jan;5(1):39–48. doi: 10.1105/tpc.5.1.39. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Quail P. H. Phytochrome: a light-activated molecular switch that regulates plant gene expression. Annu Rev Genet. 1991;25:389–409. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ge.25.120191.002133. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Reed J. W., Nagpal P., Poole D. S., Furuya M., Chory J. Mutations in the gene for the red/far-red light receptor phytochrome B alter cell elongation and physiological responses throughout Arabidopsis development. Plant Cell. 1993 Feb;5(2):147–157. doi: 10.1105/tpc.5.2.147. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Reymond P., Short T. W., Briggs W. R., Poff K. L. Light-induced phosphorylation of a membrane protein plays an early role in signal transduction for phototropism in Arabidopsis thaliana. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1992 May;89(10):4718–4721. doi: 10.1073/pnas.89.10.4718. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  30. Somers D. E., Sharrock R. A., Tepperman J. M., Quail P. H. The hy3 Long Hypocotyl Mutant of Arabidopsis Is Deficient in Phytochrome B. Plant Cell. 1991 Dec;3(12):1263–1274. doi: 10.1105/tpc.3.12.1263. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  31. Stockhaus J., Nagatani A., Halfter U., Kay S., Furuya M., Chua N. H. Serine-to-alanine substitutions at the amino-terminal region of phytochrome A result in an increase in biological activity. Genes Dev. 1992 Dec;6(12A):2364–2372. doi: 10.1101/gad.6.12a.2364. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  32. Thümmler F., Dufner M., Kreisl P., Dittrich P. Molecular cloning of a novel phytochrome gene of the moss Ceratodon purpureus which encodes a putative light-regulated protein kinase. Plant Mol Biol. 1992 Dec;20(6):1003–1017. doi: 10.1007/BF00028888. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  33. Wagner D., Tepperman J. M., Quail P. H. Overexpression of Phytochrome B Induces a Short Hypocotyl Phenotype in Transgenic Arabidopsis. Plant Cell. 1991 Dec;3(12):1275–1288. doi: 10.1105/tpc.3.12.1275. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  34. Wei N., Deng X. W. COP9: a new genetic locus involved in light-regulated development and gene expression in arabidopsis. Plant Cell. 1992 Dec;4(12):1507–1518. doi: 10.1105/tpc.4.12.1507. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  35. Wong Y. S., Cheng H. C., Walsh D. A., Lagarias J. C. Phosphorylation of Avena phytochrome in vitro as a probe of light-induced conformational changes. J Biol Chem. 1986 Sep 15;261(26):12089–12097. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Plant Physiology are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

RESOURCES