Table of Contents
What is mycosporine-like amino acids?
Mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) are a family of intracellular compounds biosynthesized by shikimic acid pathway for the synthesis of aromatic amino acids involved in the protection of aquatic organisms against solar radiation.
What is palythine?
Palythine is an organonitrogen compound and an organooxygen compound. It derives from an alpha-amino acid.
What is Mycosporine glycine?
Mycosporine-2-glycine is the major mycosporine-like amino acid in a unicellular cyanobacterium (Euhalothece sp.) isolated from a gypsum crust in a hypersaline saltern pond.
What is Shinorine?
Shinorine, a mycosporine-like amino acid (MAA), is a small molecule sunscreen produced in some bacteria. In this study, by introducing shinorine biosynthetic genes from cyanobacteria Nostoc punctiform into Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we successfully constructed yeast strains capable of producing shinorine.
What are mycosporine-like amino acids?
Mycosporines and mycosporine-like amino acids are ultra-violet-absorbing compounds produced by several organisms such as lichens, fungi, algae and cyanobacteria, especially upon exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation. These compounds have photoprotective and antioxidant functions.
What are mycosporines and how do they work?
Mycosporines and mycosporine-like amino acids are a large family of natural UV-absorbing compounds.
Why do mycosporine-like amino acids evolve in UV protection?
Cyanobacteria might have faced the most deleterious ultraviolet radiation, which leads to an evolution of ultraviolet protecting mycosporine-like amino acids for efficient selection in the environment.
Are mycosporine-like amino acids essential for photosynthesis?
Though not absolute proof, these findings do implicate MAAs as accessory pigments to photosynthesis . The eyes for the mantis shrimp contain four different kinds of mycosporine-like amino acids as filters, which combined with two different visual pigments assist the eye to detect six different bands of ultraviolet light.