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Probing visual transduction in a plant cell: Optical recording of rhodopsin-induced structural changes from
1Max-Planck-Institut für Biochemie, D-8033 Martinsried, West Germany.
Abstract:
Light scattering studies of vertebrate rod cells have greatly aided our understanding of the visual transduction process. This technique has now been successfully applied to study visual transduction in a unicellular alga. Flash-induced light scattering changes have been recorded which are repeatable, graded with photon exposure, and adaptive. They appear on a timescale of 15-1,000 ms and correlate kinetically with flash-induced movement responses. The responsible photoreceptor is a rhodopsin. Evidence is provided for the ability of the organism to count single photons.
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