Rhodopsins and Phototransduction

Rhodopsins and Phototransduction Chair: Toru Yoshizawa 1999 Rhodopsins are.photosensitive proteins with a retinal as the chromophore, and are composed of seven transmembrane helices embedded in the membranes. They function as the photoreceptor proteins for visual transduction and extraocular systems. Upon absorption of light the region-specific isomerization of the retinal chromophore takes place, which is the switching mechanism of the visual transduction process and induces a conformational change of the protein moiety in the rhodopsin molecule. Metarhodopsin II, an intermediate in the bleaching process of rhodopsin, interacts with a G protein and mediates the light signal for further transduction processing in the visual cell. In the past few years, it has been shown that rhodopsin belongs to a large receptor family and that the general mechanism of the signal transduction mediated by this receptor family is almost universal. Fully interdisciplinary, this book brings together protein chemists, molecular biologists, structural biologists, biophysicists, biochemists and photobiologists to discuss their work. Recent data are presented on the photoreceptive mechanism of rhodopsins, the molecular mechanism of the visual transduction process, visual processes in the retina, and other transduction processes in the retina and brain. This book is dedicated to the memory of George Wald.Novartis Foundation Symposium Staff is the author of 'Rhodopsins and Phototransduction' with ISBN 9780471988274 and ISBN 0471988278.