Organisms of all domains of life use photoreceptor proteins to sense and respond to light.
The light-sensitivity of photoreceptor proteins arises from bound chromophores such as …

Evidence is reviewed from a wide range of studies relevant to the evolution of vertebrate
photoreceptors and phototransduction, in order to permit the synthesis of a scenario for the …

Information is carried between brain regions through neurotransmitter release from axonal
presynaptic terminals. Understanding the functional roles of defined neuronal projection …

Rhodopsins are photoreceptive membrane proteins consisting of a common heptahelical
transmembrane architecture that contains a retinal chromophore. Rhodopsin was first …

Opsin proteins are essential molecules in mediating the ability of animals to detect and use
light for diverse biological functions. Therefore, understanding the evolutionary history of …

The first member and eponym of the rhodopsin family was identified in the 1930s as the
visual pigment of the rod photoreceptor cell in the animal retina. It was found to be a …

Optogenetic gene therapies to restore vision are in clinical trials. Whilst current clinical
approaches target the ganglion cells, the output neurons of the retina, new molecular tools …

Optical control of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling is a highly valuable
approach for comprehensive understanding of GPCR-based physiologies and controlling …

Phototransduction is based on opsins that drive distinct types of Gα cascades. Although
nonvisual photosensitivity has long been known in marine bivalves, the underlying …

Light-sensitive G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs)—rhodopsins—absorb photons to
isomerize their covalently bound retinal, triggering conformational changes that result in …