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Bicycle-pedal model for the first step in the vision process.

Computer simulation of the molecular dynamics of retinal during its photoisomerisation inside a restrictive active site gives a detailed model for the sequence of events in the first step of the vision process. It is proposed that the prelumirhodopsin intermediate contains a strained all-trans retinal molecule produced directly and rapidly from the 11-cis, 12-s-trans conformation in rhodopsin by a bicycle-pedal isomerisation. The model reproduces the main experimental observations and explains how the protein makes the photoisomerisation path unique.

Binding Sites↗

Light isomerizes the chromophore of bacteriorhodopsin.

The primary photochemical event in the two light-transducing pigments whose chromophore is retinal, rhodopsin or bacteriorhodopsin, is a source of controversy. It was originally proposed that the primary photoevent in the bleaching of rhodopsin is the photoisomerization of the chromophore from 11-cis to all-trans retinal. Photochemical considerations suggested that a photoisomerization is the primary event in both rhodopsin and bacteriorhodopsin. However, this description of bacteriorhodopsin's photochemistry has been questioned. To elucidate this problem, we determined the isomeric conformation of retinal for two of the photolytic intermediates of bacteriorhodopsin, using a method that enables us to extract chromophores from the photocycle intermediates L and M at low temperatures (-74 degrees C), and have determined the isomeric conformation of the extracted retinals by HPLC. Here we provide direct evidence that isomerization of the chromophore has taken place in two of the early photocycle intermediates (L and M) of bacteriorhodopsin.

Bacteriorhodopsins↗

Can dietary beta-carotene materially reduce human cancer rates?

Human cancer risks are inversely correlated with (a) blood retinol and (b) dietary beta-carotene. Although retinol in the blood might well be truly protective, this would be of little immediate value without discovery of the important external determinants of blood retinol which (in developed countries) do not include dietary retinol or beta-carotene. If dietary beta-carotene is truly protective--which could be tested by controlled trials--there are a number of theoretical mechanisms whereby it might act, some of which do not directly involve its 'provitamin A' activity.

Africa, Eastern↗

A rhodopsin is the functional photoreceptor for phototaxis in the unicellular eukaryote Chlamydomonas.

Rhodopsin is a visual pigment ubiquitous in multicellular animals. If visual pigments have a common ancient origin, as is believed, then some unicellular organisms might also use a rhodopsin photoreceptor. We show here that the unicellular alga Chlamydomonas does indeed use a rhodopsin photoreceptor. We incorporated analogues of its retinal chromophore into a blind mutant; normal photobehaviour was restored and the colour of maximum sensitivity was shifted in a manner consistent with the nature of the retinal analogue added. The data suggest that 11-cis-retinal is the natural chromophore and that the protein environment of this retinal is similar to that found in bovine rhodopsin, suggesting homology with the rhodopsins of higher organisms. This is the first demonstration of a rhodopsin photoreceptor in an alga or eukaryotic protist and also the first report of behavioural spectral shifts caused by exogenous synthetic retinals in a eukaryote. A survey of the morphology and action spectra of other protists suggests that rhodopsins may be common photoreceptors of chlorophycean, prasinophycean and dinophycean algae. Thus, Chlamydomonas represents a useful new model for studying photoreceptor cells.

Cell Movement↗