Light perception and signalling in higher plants

Abstract

Plants monitor changes in the ambient light environment using sensory photoreceptor families: the phototropins and cryptochromes, which absorb UV-A or blue light; the phytochromes, which sense red/far-red light; and the UV-B photoreceptors, which have not yet been identified. Recent advances suggest that photoreceptor-induced signalling cascades regulate light-modulated gene expression. These regulatory networks interact at the levels of transcription, posttranslational modification and nucleo-cytoplasmic compartmentalisation.