Phytochrome is a plant regulatory photoreceptor that mediates red light effects on a wide variety of physiological and molecular responses. DNA blot analysis indicates that the Arabidopsis thaliana genome contains four to five phytochrome-related gene sequences. We have isolated and sequenced cDNA clones corresponding to three of these genes and have deduced the amino acid sequence of the full-length polypeptide encoded in each case. One of these proteins ipbyA) shows 65-80% amino acid sequence identity with the major, etiolated-tissue phytochrome apoproteins described previously in other plant species. The other two polypeptides {pbyB and pbyC) are unique in that they have low sequence identity (-50%) with each other, with pbyA, and with all previously described phytochromes. The pbyA, pbyB, and pbyC proteins are of similar molecular mass, have related hydropathic profiles, and contain a conserved chromophore attachment region. However, the sequence comparison data indicate that the three pby genes diverged early in plant evolution, well before the divergence of the two major groups of angiosperms, the monocots and dicots. The steady-state level of the pbyA transcript is high in dark-grown A. tbaliana seedlings and is down-regulated by light. In contrast, the pbyB and pbyC transcripts are present at lower levels and are not strongly light-regulated. These findings indicate that the red/far red light-responsive phytochrome photoreceptor system in A. tbaliana, and perhaps in all higher plants, consists of a family of chromoproteins that are heterogeneous in structure and regulation.