In silico analysis indicate putative action modes of At2g47590 (GERALT) and At4g25290 (TATOOINE) proteins, two outcast of Arabidospsis thaliana cryptochrome/photolyase family

With tremendous advances in sequencing technology, the scientific community has access to genome-wide data. Identification of putative genes is then relatively easy, but the assignment of their functions, done solely based on homology, may lead to false conclusions. Here we re-address the question of the affiliation of two Arabidopsis thaliana proteins encoded by At2g47590 and At4g25290 . Previously, they were identified as photolyase/cryptochrome. However, there was no proof of involvement of At2g47590 and At4g25290 encoded proteins in photorepair or blue-light dependent regulation of physiological processes. Since these proteins are still not available for analysis in vitro , we lack a significant portion of knowledge to propose their actual function. However, we used in silico tools to obtain models of both protein and test their behavior with putative partners. Based on the results, we propose that At2g47590 protein might be a logic-gate, combining signals of the redox state of chloroplast stroma and presence of light, which is crucial at the beginning of plant growth, especially at the switch point between skotomorphogenesis and photomorphogenesis. At4g25290 proteins, on the other hand, might work as a signaling lipase, somehow dependent on the presence of a light signal. Although the in silico analysis needs further experimental validation, our results may help further the proper design of experiments to confirm the function of both studied proteins.