DASH cryptochrome 1, a UV‐A receptor, balances the photosynthetic machinery of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

What is it about?

DASH-cryptochromes have been found in many organisms, but only for bacteria and fungi they were shown to act as DNA repair proteins in vivo and to play regulatory roles. Studies on a green microalgal CRY-DASH that is localized in the chloroplast reveal its involvement in high-performance photoautotrophic growth by balancing the photosynthetic machinery via its pigments, thylakoid membrane staples, certain central proteins of photosystem II and higher maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem II. CRY-DASH1 absorbs mainly in the UV-A spectral range and is required to support photoautotrophic growth in the presence of UV-A.

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