The overall goal of this research is to identify factors involved in blue-light induced transcription of proteins in higher plants. There are two basic classes of transcription factors, core factors and regulatory factors. Core factors allow for low level, constitutive expression. Their presence or activity is not regulated and they function for many genes. Regulatory factors are not always active and affect the rate of Pisum sativum (pea) and Arabidopsis thaliani to identify the regulatory factors that effect blue-light transcription of a pigment-binding protein found in plants. Blue light represents a regulatory signal for many events in growth and development. Examples of these events are found in all the kingdoms and range from bacterial motion to alleviation of winter depression in humans. The basic biochemical mechanism by which blue light is perceived and transduced into a signal useful for the cell is probably very ancient. Indeed, as light represents one of the oldest environmental cues, it may be that blue-light regulation is the oldest signal. Understanding this ancient mechanism will provide insight into how cells interpret many extracellular signals.
