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. 1976 Mar;57(3):440–445. doi: 10.1104/pp.57.3.440

Action Spectrum between 260 and 800 Nanometers for the Photoinduction of Carotenoid Biosynthesis in Neurospora crassa1,2

Eward C De Fabo a, Roy W Harding a, W Shropshire Jr a
PMCID: PMC542042  PMID: 16659499

Abstract

An action spectrum for light-induced carotenoid biosynthesis in Neurospora crassa was determined in 4 to 20 nm steps from 260 to 800 nm. Four-day, dark-grown mycelial pads of N. crassa were exposed to varying amounts of monochromatic radiant energy and time. After a 48-hour incubation period at 6 C, carotenoid content was assayed spectrophotometrically in vivo. The action spectrum has maxima at 450 and 481 nm in the visible range and at 280 and 370 nm in the ultraviolet. A pigment synthesized by Neurospora whose absorption spectrum resembles the action spectrum is β-carotene.

A model for the regulation of carotenoid biosynthesis in N. crassa is proposed which describes a mechanism by which β-carotene could act as a photoregulator. This carotenoid is suggested to be both photoreceptor for and regulator of carotenoid biosynthesis.

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Selected References

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

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