The C-terminus of a diatom plant-like cryptochrome influences the FAD redox state and binding of interaction partners.

A plant-like cryptochrome of diatom microalgae, CryP, acts as a photoreceptor involved in transcriptional regulation. It contains FAD and 5,10-methenyltetrahydrofolate as chromophores. Here, we demonstrate that the unstructured C-terminal extension (CTE) of CryP has an influence on the redox state of the flavin.

Knock-Down of a ligIV Homologue Enables DNA Integration via Homologous Recombination in the Marine Diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum.

Genetic engineering of Phaeodactylum tricornutum as a model organism for diatoms is the basis of molecular and biochemical research, and can also be used in biotechnological approaches. So far, integration of foreign DNA into the genome happens randomly by nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ), if the classical method of particle bombardment is used, with the danger of negative physiological side effects. Here we show that a putative gene for a DNA ligase IV homologue ( ligIV) in P.