InterPro domain: IPR002081

The cryptochrome and photolyase families consist of structurally related flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) proteins that use the absorption of blue light to accomplish different tasks. The photolyasess use the blue light for light-driven electron transfer to repair UV-damaged DNA, while the cryptochromes are blue-light photoreceptors involved in the circadian clock for plants and animals [ 1 , 2 ]. On the basis of the primary structure, the cryptochrome/DNA photolyase family can be grouped into two classes [ 3 ]. The first class contains cryptochromes and DNA photolyases from eubacteria, archaea, fungi, animals and plants. The second class contains DNA photolyases from prokaryotes, plants and animals.

This entry represents the class1 cryptochrome/DNA photolyase family. Its members include cryptochromes, DNA photolyases and cryptochrome-DASH (Cry-DASH). The Cry-DASH family members have been shown to act as photolyases with high degree of specificity for cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers in ssDNA [ 4 ].

1. Binding of Substrate Locks the Electrochemistry of CRY-DASH into DNA Repair. Biochemistry 54, 2802-5
2. Evolutionary History of the Photolyase/Cryptochrome Superfamily in Eukaryotes. PLoS ONE 10, e0135940
3. A new class of DNA photolyases present in various organisms including aplacental mammals. EMBO J. 13, 6143-51
4. A cryptochrome/photolyase class of enzymes with single-stranded DNA-specific photolyase activity. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 103, 17696-700