Publications by authors named "U Gerken"
Plant phytochromes perceive red and far-red light to elicit adaptations to the changing environment. Downstream physiological responses revolve around red-light-induced interactions with phytochrome-interacting factors (PIF). Phytochromes double as thermoreceptors, owing to the pronounced temperature dependence of thermal reversion from the light-adapted Pfr to the dark-adapted Pr state.
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- * The pCrepusculo and pAurora systems were developed to respectively downregulate and upregulate bacterial gene expression via blue light, and they work as compact plasmids with minimal background activity.
- * By combining PAL's light-dependent RNA control with other optogenetic systems, more complex gene regulation can be achieved, exemplified by the pEnumbra setup, which regulates gene expression based on the intensity of blue light.
In optogenetics, as in nature, sensory photoreceptors serve to control cellular processes by light. Bacteriophytochrome (BphP) photoreceptors sense red and far-red light via a biliverdin chromophore and, in response, cycle between the spectroscopically, structurally, and functionally distinct Pr and Pfr states. BphPs commonly belong to two-component systems that control the phosphorylation of cognate response regulators and downstream gene expression through histidine kinase modules.
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