A far-red cyanobacteriochrome lineage specific for verdins
Marcus V. Moreno, Nathan C. Rockwell, M. Alejandra Esparza Mora, Andrew J. Fisher, J. Clark Lagarias
Abstract
Significance Cyanobacteriochrome (CBCR) photoreceptors leverage light-triggered photoisomerization of bound bilin chromophores to regulate gene expression, directional movement, and cell–cell communication in cyanobacteria. CBCRs responding to far-red light provide an emerging class of small reagents for applications in synthetic biology. We have found CBCRs that use 18 1 ,18 2 -dihydrobiliverdin or biliverdin chromophore precursors to sense far-red light. This lineage is distinguished from others by exclusion of phycobilins, the normal CBCR chromophores. Owing to the deep penetrance of far-red light in mammalian tissue and availability of biliverdin therein, this lineage of CBCRs holds great potential for developing synthetic biology tools of biomedical interest.