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A cryptochrome-based photosensory system in the siliceous sponge Suberites domuncula (Demospongiae)

  1. Werner E. G. Müller1,
  2. Xiaohong Wang2,
  3. Heinz C. Schröder1,
  4. Michael Korzhev1,
  5. Vladislav A. Grebenjuk1,
  6. Julia S. Markl1,
  7. Klaus P. Jochum3,
  8. Dario Pisignano4,
  9. Matthias Wiens1

Article first published online: 1 FEB 2010

DOI: 10.1111/j.1742-4658.2009.07552.x

Issue

FEBS Journal

FEBS Journal

Volume 277, Issue 5, pages 1182–1201, March 2010

Additional Information

How to Cite

Müller, W. E. G., Wang, X., Schröder, H. C., Korzhev, M., Grebenjuk, V. A., Markl, J. S., Jochum, K. P., Pisignano, D. and Wiens, M. (2010), A cryptochrome-based photosensory system in the siliceous sponge Suberites domuncula (Demospongiae). FEBS Journal, 277: 1182–1201. doi: 10.1111/j.1742-4658.2009.07552.x

Author Information

  1. 1

     Institute for Physiological Chemistry and Pathobiochemistry, Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz, Germany

  2. 2

     National Research Center for Geoanalysis, Beijing, China

  3. 3

     Max-Planck-Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany

  4. 4

     Scuola Superiore ISUFI, Università del Salento and National Nanotechnology Laboratory, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica della Materia-Consiglio Nazionale Delle Ricerche, Lecce, Italy

*W. E. G. Müller, Institute for Physiological Chemistry and Pathobiochemistry, Johannes Gutenberg University, Medical School, Duesbergweg 6, D-55099 Mainz, Germany Fax: +49 6131 39 25243 Tel: +49 6131 39 25910 E-mail: wmueller@uni-mainz.de Website: http://www.biotecmarin.de/

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 5 FEB 2010
  2. Article first published online: 1 FEB 2010
  3. (Received 19 September 2009, revised 8 November 2009, accepted 17 December 2009)

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Keywords:

  • optical waveguide;
  • photosensor;
  • Porifera;
  • sponges;
  • Suberites domuncula

Based on the light-reactive behavior of siliceous sponges, their intriguing quartz glass-based spicular system and the existence of a light-generating luciferase [Müller WEG et al. (2009) Cell Mol Life Sci 66, 537–552], a protein potentially involved in light reception has been identified, cloned and recombinantly expressed from the demosponge Suberites domuncula. Its sequence displays two domains characteristic of cryptochrome, the N-terminal photolyase-related region and the C-terminal FAD-binding domain. The expression level of S. domuncula cryptochrome depends on animal’s exposure to light and is highest in tissue regions rich in siliceous spicules; in the dark, no cryptochrome transcripts/translational products are seen. From the experimental data, it is proposed that sponges might employ a luciferase-like protein, the spicular system and a cryptochrome as the light source, optical waveguide and photosensor, respectively.

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