WHAT IS THEIR ROLE IN FUNGI? It is obvious as to why animals need to sense light, to observe and react to their ever changing environment. The need for fungi is less clear as they are not autotrophs and they do not seem to move around their environment. These pigments coordinate a number of crucial functions in fungi such as:
Sexual and asexual development Entrainment and maintenance of the circadian clock DNA lesion repair Phototaxis
WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT? Without the ability to entrain the circadian clock, timed cellular mechanics would enter a state of disarray. Crucial functions such as cell division are tightly regulated by circadian oscillators and with no regulation cell proliferation would spiral out of control. If replication occurs during the day it runs a greater risk of being damaged by UV radiation, circadian rhythm controlled replication minimises the hazard of UV radiation. Light helps cells sense their environment but light from the UV spectrum is extremely damaging to cellular life. The UV radiation causes lesions to form in the DNA causing mutation, certain photopigments such as photolyases repair this damage, saving the cell.