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Phytochrome as a Molecule

  • Chapter
Book cover Photomorphogenesis

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Plant Physiology ((PLANT,volume 16))

Abstract

Action spectra studies of photomorphogenic responses in plants imply that several photoreceptor molecules probably exist (see Chap. 2, this Vol.). A necessary part of gaining an understanding of the mechanisms of these light-mediated responses in plants is the identification and characterization of the photoreceptor molecules. To date, the only photomorphogenically active molecule to be unequivocally identified and isolated from plants is phytochrome. The detection and isolation of phytochrome (Butler et al. 1959) was made possible by its unique photoreversible absorbance changes in the red and far-red regions of the spectrum which matched action spectra for photoreversible physiological responses in plants (Borthwick et al. 1952). These reversible spectral changes in phytochrome provided the basis for a photometric assay (Chap. 8, this Vol.) and made possible the subsequent purification and characterization of phytochrome.

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  1. W. O. Smith
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Radiation Biology Laboratory, Smithsonian Institution, 12441 Parklawn Drive, Rockville, MD, 20852, USA

    W. Shropshire Jr.

  2. Biologisches Institut II, Universität Lehrstuhl für Botanik, Schänzlestr. 1, D-7800, Freiburg, Germany

    H. Mohr

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© 1983 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Smith, W.O. (1983). Phytochrome as a Molecule. In: Shropshire, W., Mohr, H. (eds) Photomorphogenesis. Encyclopedia of Plant Physiology, vol 16. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-68918-5_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-68918-5_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-68920-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-68918-5

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