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Kinetic analysis of the activation of photoactivated adenylyl cyclase (PAC), a blue-light receptor for photomovements of Euglena

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Abstract

Photoactivated adenylyl cyclase (PAC) was first purified from a photosensing organelle (the paraflagellar body) of the unicellular flagellate Euglena gracilis, and is regarded as the photoreceptor for the step-up photophobic response. Here, we report the kinetic properties of photoactivation of PAC and a change in intracellular cAMP levels upon blue light irradiation. Activation of PAC was dependent both on photon fluence rate and duration of irradiation, between which reciprocity held well in the range of 2–50 µmol m-2 s-1 (total fluence of 1200 µmol m-2). Intermittent irradiation also caused activation of PAC in a photon fluence-dependent manner irrespective of cycle periods. Wavelength dependency of PAC activation showed prominent peaks in the UV-B/C, UV-A and blue regions of the spectrum. The time course of the changes in intracellular cAMP levels corresponded well with that of the step-up photophobic response. From this and the kinetic properties of PAC photoactivation, we concluded that an increase in intracellular cAMP levels evoked by photoactivation of PAC is a key event of the step-up photophobic response.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Agency, 4-1-8 Honcho, Kawaguchi, Saitama, 332-0012, Japan

    Shinya Yoshikawa, Takeshi Suzuki & Mineo Iseki

  2. National Institute for Basic Biology, Okazaki, Aichi, 444-8585, Japan

    Shinya Yoshikawa, Takeshi Suzuki, Masakatsu Watanabe & Mineo Iseki

  3. Department of Photoscience, School of Advanced Sciences, Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Shonan Village, Hayama, Kanagawa, 240-0193, Japan

    Masakatsu Watanabe

Authors
  1. Shinya Yoshikawa
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  2. Takeshi Suzuki
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  3. Masakatsu Watanabe
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  4. Mineo Iseki
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Correspondence to Mineo Iseki.

Additional information

Presented at the 14th International Congress on Photobiology, at Jungmoon, Jeju Island, South Korea, 10th-15th June 2004.

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Yoshikawa, S., Suzuki, T., Watanabe, M. et al. Kinetic analysis of the activation of photoactivated adenylyl cyclase (PAC), a blue-light receptor for photomovements of Euglena. Photochem Photobiol Sci 4, 727–731 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1039/b417212d

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/b417212d

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