Cryptochromes (CRYs) function as blue light photoreceptors in diverse physiological processes in nearly all kingdoms of life. Over the past several decades, they have emerged as the most likely candidates for light-dependent magnetoreception in animals, however, a long history of conflicts between in vitro photochemistry and in vivo behavioral data complicate validation of CRYs as a magnetosensor. In this review, we highlight the origins of conflicts regarding CRY photochemistry and signal transduction, and identify recent data that provides clarity on potential mechanisms of signal transduction in magnetoreception. The review primarily focuses on examining differences in photochemistry and signal transduction in plant and animal CRYs, and identifies potential modes of convergent evolution within these independent lineages that may identify conserved signaling pathways.

中文翻译：

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隐花色素：对磁感受的光化学和结构洞察

隐花色素 (CRY) 在几乎所有生命王国的各种生理过程中都充当蓝光光感受器。在过去的几十年中，它们已成为动物中光依赖性磁感受的最有可能的候选者，然而，体外光化学和体内行为数据之间长期存在的冲突使 CRY 作为磁传感器的验证变得复杂。在这篇综述中，我们强调了有关 CRY 光化学和信号转导的冲突的起源，并确定了最近的数据，这些数据为磁感受中信号转导的潜在机制提供了清晰的信息。该综述主要侧重于检查植物和动物 CRY 中光化学和信号转导的差异，