Work

Multisensing photoreceptors: a cross-kingdom perspective

Year: 2026

Type: review

Abstract: Photoreceptors are classically depicted as monochromatic switches governed strictly by light. However, emerging biophysical and structural insights reveal that these proteins act as dynamic, multisensory hubs across kingdoms of life. Drawing primarily on plant and fungal systems, where mechanisms are most extensively characterized, this review synthesizes how photoreceptors integrate ambient temperature and cellular oxidative state alongside photon flux, with cross-kingdom examples extending this framework to bacteria. Thermal energy modulates dark reversion rates, quaternary assembly, and photobody phase separation, whereas reactive oxygen species alter the photocycle and trigger structural shifts through direct redox sensing. Under a 'stress-first' evolutionary model, ancestral stress-sensing scaffolds could be retrofitted with chromophores via exaptation, providing a unified biophysical rationale for how cells decode complex, fluctuating environments.

Source: Trends in Biochemical Sciences

DOI: 10.1016/j.tibs.2026.10.003

Authors: Lars Schuhmacher, Alexander Landmark, Reinhard Fischer

Institution: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Light effects on plants

Subfield: Plant Science

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $7,030

Funder: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft