Abstract
LOV (light, oxygen or voltage) domains are protein photosensors that are conserved in bacteria, archaea, plants and fungi, and detect blue light via a flavin cofactor. LOV domains are present in both chemotrophic and phototrophic bacterial species, in which they are found amino-terminally of signalling and regulatory domains such as sensor histidine kinases, diguanylate cyclases-phosphodiesterases, DNA-binding domains and regulators of RNA polymerase σ-factors. In this Review, we describe the current state of knowledge about the function of bacterial LOV proteins, the structural basis of LOV domain-mediated signal transduction, and the use of LOV domains as genetically encoded photoswitches in synthetic biology.
MeSH terms
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Archaea / chemistry
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Archaea / genetics
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Archaea / metabolism
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Archaeal Proteins / chemistry
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Archaeal Proteins / metabolism
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Bacteria* / chemistry
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Bacteria* / genetics
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Bacteria* / metabolism
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Bacterial Proteins* / chemistry
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Bacterial Proteins* / metabolism
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Cryptochromes
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Flavins / metabolism
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Flavoproteins / chemistry
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Flavoproteins / metabolism
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Fungal Proteins / chemistry
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Fungal Proteins / metabolism
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Fungi / chemistry
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Fungi / genetics
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Fungi / metabolism
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Light
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Phototropins / metabolism
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Phototropism*
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Plant Proteins / chemistry
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Plant Proteins / metabolism
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Plants / chemistry
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Plants / genetics
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Plants / metabolism
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Signal Transduction
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Synthetic Biology
Substances
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Archaeal Proteins
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Bacterial Proteins
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Cryptochromes
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Flavins
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Flavoproteins
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Fungal Proteins
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Phototropins
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Plant Proteins