Cobalamin's (Vitamin B12) Surprising Function as a Photoreceptor

Cobalamin (Vitamin B-12) is an adenosylor methyl-donating cofactor for many enzymes, yet many proteins with unknown or nonenzymatic function also contain B-12-binding domains. Recent studies show that light excitation energy can promote covalent linkage of B-12 to transcription factors with this linkage, affecting gene expression. Thus, B-12 now has a newly described regulatory function. Here, our bioinformatics analysis reveals other transcription factors, photoreceptors, kinases, and oxygen sensors that harbor a B-12-binding domain that could also regulate activity in response to light absorption.