TY - JOUR
T1 - Out of the Dark and Into the Light
T2 - A New View of Phytochrome Photobodies
AU - Pardi, Sarah A.
AU - Nusinow, Dmitri A.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research, Genomic Science Program grant no. DE-SC0021286.
Funding Information:
We would like to thank Elizabeth Haswell, Margaret Wilson, Nathan Swyers, Rebecca Bindbeutel, and Maria Sorkin for the thoughtful reading of this review and their helpful edits. Funding. This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research, Genomic Science Program grant no. DE-SC0021286.
Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright © 2021 Pardi and Nusinow.
PY - 2021/8/31
Y1 - 2021/8/31
N2 - Light is a critical environmental stimulus for plants, serving as an energy source via photosynthesis and a signal for developmental programming. Plants perceive light through various light-responsive proteins, termed photoreceptors. Phytochromes are red-light photoreceptors that are highly conserved across kingdoms. In the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, phytochrome B serves as a light and thermal sensor, mediating physiological processes such as seedling germination and establishment, hypocotyl growth, chlorophyll biogenesis, and flowering. In response to red light, phytochromes convert to a biologically active form, translocating from the cytoplasm into the nucleus and further compartmentalizes into subnuclear compartments termed photobodies. PhyB photobodies regulate phytochrome-mediated signaling and physiological outputs. However, photobody function, composition, and biogenesis remain undefined since their discovery. Based on photobody cellular dynamics and the properties of internal components, photobodies have been suggested to undergo liquid-liquid phase separation, a process by which some membraneless compartments form. Here, we explore photobodies as environmental sensors, examine the role of their protein constituents, and outline the biophysical perspective that photobodies may be undergoing liquid-liquid phase separation. Understanding the molecular, cellular, and biophysical processes that shape how plants perceive light will help in engineering improved sunlight capture and fitness of important crops.
AB - Light is a critical environmental stimulus for plants, serving as an energy source via photosynthesis and a signal for developmental programming. Plants perceive light through various light-responsive proteins, termed photoreceptors. Phytochromes are red-light photoreceptors that are highly conserved across kingdoms. In the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, phytochrome B serves as a light and thermal sensor, mediating physiological processes such as seedling germination and establishment, hypocotyl growth, chlorophyll biogenesis, and flowering. In response to red light, phytochromes convert to a biologically active form, translocating from the cytoplasm into the nucleus and further compartmentalizes into subnuclear compartments termed photobodies. PhyB photobodies regulate phytochrome-mediated signaling and physiological outputs. However, photobody function, composition, and biogenesis remain undefined since their discovery. Based on photobody cellular dynamics and the properties of internal components, photobodies have been suggested to undergo liquid-liquid phase separation, a process by which some membraneless compartments form. Here, we explore photobodies as environmental sensors, examine the role of their protein constituents, and outline the biophysical perspective that photobodies may be undergoing liquid-liquid phase separation. Understanding the molecular, cellular, and biophysical processes that shape how plants perceive light will help in engineering improved sunlight capture and fitness of important crops.
KW - biomolecular condensates
KW - intrinsically disordered protein
KW - liquid–liquid phase separation
KW - photobodies
KW - phytochrome
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85114878943&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fpls.2021.732947
DO - 10.3389/fpls.2021.732947
M3 - Review article
C2 - 34531891
AN - SCOPUS:85114878943
SN - 1664-462X
VL - 12
JO - Frontiers in Plant Science
JF - Frontiers in Plant Science
M1 - 732947
ER -