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UV-light-dependent binding of a visual arrestin 1 isoform to photoreceptor membranes in a neuropteran (Ascalaphus)
J Bentrop1, M Schillo, G Gerdon
1Lehrstuhl für Zell- und Neurobiologie, Zoologisches Institut, Universität Karlsruhe, Haid-und-Neustr. 9, D-76131 Karlsruhe, Germany. joachim.bentrop@uni-karlsruhe.de
Abstract:
Arrestins are regulators of the active state of G-protein-coupled receptors. Towards elucidating the function of different arrestin subfamilies in sensory cells, we have isolated a novel arrestin 1, Am Arr1, from the UV photoreceptors of the neuropteran Ascalaphus macaronius. Am Arr1 forms a phylogenetic clade with antennal and visual Arr1 isoforms of invertebrates. Am Arr1 undergoes a light-dependent binding cycle to photoreceptor membranes, as reported earlier only for members of the arrestin 2 subfamily. This suggests a common control mechanism for the active state of invertebrate rhodopsins and G-protein-coupled receptors of antennal sensory cells. Furthermore, it implies that a strict correlation of distinct arrestin isoforms to distinct functions is not a general principle for invertebrate sensory cells.
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