The phycocyanobilin chromophore of streptophyte algal phytochromes is synthesized by HY2.

Land plant phytochromes perceive red and far-red light to control growth and development, using the linear tetrapyrrole (bilin) chromophore phytochromobilin (PΦB). Phytochromes from streptophyte algae, sister species to land plants, instead use phycocyanobilin (PCB). PCB and PΦB are synthesized by different ferredoxin-dependent bilin reductases (FDBRs): PΦB is synthesized by HY2, whereas PCB is synthesized by PcyA.

There and Back Again: Loss and Reacquisition of Two-Cys Photocycles in Cyanobacteriochromes.

Cyanobacteriochromes (CBCRs) are cyanobacterial photoreceptors distantly related to phytochromes. Both families use linear tetrapyrrole (bilin) chromophores that are covalently attached to a conserved Cys residue. CBCRs are more spectrally diverse than phytochromes, with known examples detecting light from the near ultraviolet to the edge of the infrared (370-750 nm).