DASH-type cryptochromes – solved and open questions

Drosophila, Arabidopsis, Synechocystis, human (DASH)-type cryptochromes (cry-DASHs) form one subclade of the cryptochrome/photolyase family (CPF). CPF members are flavoproteins that act as DNA-repair enzymes (DNA-photolyases), or as ultraviolet(UV)-A/blue light photoreceptors (cryptochromes). In mammals, cryptochromes are essential components of the circadian clock feed-back loop. Cry-DASHs are present in almost all major taxa and were initially considered as photoreceptors. Later studies demonstrated DNA-repair activity that was, however, restricted to UV-lesions in single-stranded DNA. Very recent studies, particularly on microbial organisms, substantiated photoreceptor functions of cry-DASHs suggesting that they could be transitions between photolyases and cryptochromes.