Abstract
Seeing begins in the photoreceptors, where light is absorbed and signaled to the nervous system. Throughout the animal kingdom, photoreceptors are diverse in design and purpose. Nonetheless, phototransduction-the mechanism by which absorbed photons are converted into an electrical response-is highly conserved and based almost exclusively on a single class of photoproteins, the opsins. In this Review, we survey the G protein-coupled signaling cascades downstream from opsins in photoreceptors across vertebrate and invertebrate species, noting their similarities as well as differences.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 246-264 |
Number of pages | 19 |
Journal | Cell |
Volume | 139 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 16 2009 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all)