PHY domain governs structural and photochemical fidelity in the far-red-absorbing state of phytochromes
The PHY domain acts as a structural gatekeeper that suppresses intrinsic chromophore heterogeneity and directs P<sub>fr</sub> excited-state evolution into a defined, productive photoconversion pathway. These findings provide a mechanistic foundation for domain-level control of photoreceptor function and future engineering of light-responsive proteins and optogenetic tools.
Authors
- Jörg Matysik (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7800-7443)
- Josef Wachtveitl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8496-8240)
- Lisa Köhler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4265-3726)
- Chavdar Slavov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9441-0243)
- Song Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0726-7114)
- Kai-Hong Zhao
- Valentin Rohr (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-1376-0099)
- Tobias Fischer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4196-5509)
- Florian Trunk
- Qian-Zhao Xu
- Wolfgang Gärtner
Institutions
- Goethe University Frankfurt (DE)
- Huazhong Agricultural University (CN)
- University of South Florida (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences
- Published
- 2026-02-02
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fmolb.2026.1753512
- Primary Topic
- Light effects on plants
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Universität Leipzig