Blebbistatin is a commonly used molecular tool for the specific inhibition of various myosin II isoforms both in vitro and in vivo. Despite its popularity, the use of blebbistatin is hindered by its poor water-solubility (below 10 micromolar in aqueous buffer) and blue-light sensitivity, resulting in the photoconversion of the molecule, causing severe cellular phototoxicity in addition to its c...

Fluorescent proteins photoswitchable with noncytotoxic light irradiation and spectrally distinct from multiple available photoconvertible green-to-red probes are in high demand. We have developed a monomeric fluorescent protein, called PSmOrange2, which is photoswitchable with blue light from an orange (ex./em. at 546 nm/561 nm) to a far-red (ex./em. at 619 nm/651 nm) form. Compared to another ...

plant cell cultures could be used as an important tool for biochemical production, ranging from natural pigments to pharmaceutical products. anthocyanin is affected by a variety of factors. light, an important plant environmental factor, influences the anthocyanin production in vegetative plant tissues. here, we have investigated the influence of the blue laser-diode (bld) and red laser-he ne (...

In this paper, highly stable violet-blue emitting ZnSe/ZnS core/shell QDs have been synthesized by a novel "low temperature injection and high temperature growth" method. The resulting nearly monodisperse ZnSe/ZnS core/shell QDs exhibit excellent characteristics such as a high color saturation (typical spectral full width at half-maximum between 12 and 20 nm), good emission tunability in the vi...

Phototropin is a blue light photoreceptor for tropic responses, relocation of chloroplasts, and stomata opening in plants. Phototropin has two chromophoric domains named light-oxygen-voltage-sensing (LOV) 1 and 2 in the N-terminal half, and a serine/threonine (Ser/Thr) protein kinase motif in the C-terminal half. Concerning the kinase activity of phototropin, only autophosphorylation has been d...

Supplemental artificial light in greenhouses is fundamental to achieving sustainable crop production with high yield and quality. This study’s purpose was investigate the efficacy of supplemental (SL) sources on vegetative reproductive growth cherry tomatoes. Four types were applied, including high-pressure sodium lamps (HPS), a narrow-spectrum LED (NSL), two specific full-spectrum lights (SFL1...

Aureochromes constitute a family of blue light (BL) receptors which are found exclusively in heterokont algae such as diatoms (Bacillariophyceae) and yellow-green algae (Xanthophyceae). Previous studies on the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum indicate that the formation of a high light acclimated phenotype is mediated by the absorption of BL and that aureochromes might play an important role in...

Diatoms are important phototrophs in the worlds’ oceans contributing ∼40% of the global primary photosynthetic production. This is partially explained by their capacity to exploit environments with variable light conditions, but there is limited knowledge on how diatoms cope with changes in the spectral composition and intensity of light. In this study, the influence of light quality and high i...