Cryptochromes (from the Greek κρυπτός χρώμα, "hidden colour") are a class of flavoproteins found in plants and animals that are sensitive to blue light. They are involved in the circadian rhythms and the sensing of magnetic fields in a number of species. The name cryptochrome was proposed as a portmanteau combining the chromatic nature of the photoreceptor, and the cryptogamic organisms on which many blue-light studies were carried out.

<!-- -->

<!-- -->

<!-- -->

<!-- -->

  • Cryptochrome circadian clock in Monarch Butterflies , by Steven M. Reppert, Department of Neurobiology, University of Massachusetts
  • Cryptochrome and Magnetic Sensing, Theoretical and Computational Biophysics Group at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • 2IJG at the Protein Data Bank; 3-D structure of Arabidopsis cryptochrome 3, obtained by X-ray crystallography.
  • Animated model of murine circadian pathway, including role of Cry