We report here our systematic studies of the dynamics of four redox states of the flavin cofactor in both photolyases and insect Type 1 cryptochromes. With femtosecond resolution, we observed ultrafast photoreduction of oxidized state (FAD) in subpicosecond and of neutral radical semiquinone (FADH•) in tens of picoseconds through intraprotein electron transfer mainly with a neighboring conserved tryptophan triad. Such ultrafast dynamics make these forms of flavin unlikely to be the functional states of the photolyase/cryptochrome family. In contrast, we find that upon excitation the anionic semiquinone (FAD•-) and hydroquinone (FADH-) have longer lifetimes that are compatible with high-efficiency intermolecular electron transfer reactions. In photolyases, the excited active state (FADH-*) has a long (nanosecond) lifetime optimal for DNA-repair function. In insect Type 1 cryptochromes known to be blue-light photoreceptors the excited active form (FAD•-*) has complex deactivation dynamics on the time scale from a few to hundreds of picoseconds, which is believed to occur through conical intersection(s) with a flexible bending motion to modulate the functional channel. These unique properties of anionic flavins suggest a universal mechanism of electron transfer for the initial functional steps of the photolyase/cryptochrome blue-light photoreceptor family.
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