Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Site Tools

  • AAAS
  • Subscribe
  • Feedback

Site Search

Search Advanced

Science 25 November 1994:
Vol. 266. no. 5189, pp. 1369 - 1373
DOI: 10.1126/science.7973725
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Articles

Science, Vol 266, Issue 5189, 1369-1373
Copyright © 1994 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Activation and regeneration of rhodopsin in the insect visual cycle

A Kiselev and S Subramaniam

Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205.

Light absorption by rhodopsin generates metarhodopsin, which activates heterotrimeric guanine nucleotide-binding proteins (G proteins) in photoreceptor cells of vertebrates and invertebrates. In contrast to vertebrate metarhodopsins, most invertebrate metarhodopsins are thermally stable and regenerate rhodopsin by absorption of a second photon. In experiments with Rh1 Drosophila rhodopsin, the thermal stability of metarhodopsin was found not to be an intrinsic property of the visual pigment but a consequence of its interaction with arrestin (49 kilodaltons). The stabilization of metarhodopsin resulted in a large decrease in the efficiency of G protein activation. Light absorption by thermally stable metarhodopsin initially regenerated an inactive rhodopsin-like intermediate, which was subsequently converted in the dark to active rhodopsin. The accumulation of inactive rhodopsin at higher light levels may represent a mechanism for gain regulation in the insect visual cycle.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Photochemistry of retinal chromophore in mouse melanopsin.
M. T. Walker, R. L. Brown, T. W. Cronin, and P. R. Robinson (2008)
PNAS 105, 8861-8865
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Melanopsin-Dependent Nonvisual Responses: Evidence for Photopigment Bistability In Vivo.
L. S. Mure, C. Rieux, S. Hattar, and H. M. Cooper (2007)
J Biol Rhythms 22, 411-424
   Abstract »    PDF »
Novel Dominant Rhodopsin Mutation Triggers Two Mechanisms of Retinal Degeneration and Photoreceptor Desensitization.
R. Iakhine, I. Chorna-Ornan, T. Zars, N. Elia, Y. Cheng, Z. Selinger, B. Minke, and D. R. Hyde (2004)
J. Neurosci. 24, 2516-2526
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Immediate Upstream Sequence of Arrestin Directs Rod-specific Expression in Xenopus.
S. S. Mani, J. C. Besharse, and B. E. Knox (1999)
J. Biol. Chem. 274, 15590-15597
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
A role for the light-dependent phosphorylation of visual arrestin.
P. G. Alloway and P. J. Dolph (1999)
PNAS 96, 6072-6077
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Parapinopsin, a Novel Catfish Opsin Localized to the Parapineal Organ, Defines a New Gene Family.
S. Blackshaw and S. H. Snyder (1997)
J. Neurosci. 17, 8083-8092
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Corrections and Clarifications.
(1995)
Science 267, 160
   Abstract »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)