Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 13, 2026

Methodology for Studying Interactions of Vitamin A Membrane Receptors and Opsin Protein with their Ligands in Generating the Retinylidene Protein
08:18

Methodology for Studying Interactions of Vitamin A Membrane Receptors and Opsin Protein with their Ligands in Generating the Retinylidene Protein

Published on: October 4, 2024

Kinetic, energetic, and mechanical differences between dark-state rhodopsin and opsin

Shiho Kawamura1, Moritz Gerstung, Alejandro T Colozo

  • 1Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, ETH Zürich, Basel, Switzerland.

Structure (London, England : 1993)
|February 26, 2013
PubMed
Summary

The absence of the 11-cis-retinal chromophore in rhodopsin (the visual pigment) makes the opsin protein more mechanically stable and flexible, revealing insights into G-protein-coupled receptor activation. This study used single-molecule force spectroscopy.

More Related Videos

Proton Transfer and Protein Conformation Dynamics in Photosensitive Proteins by Time-resolved Step-scan Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy10:03

Proton Transfer and Protein Conformation Dynamics in Photosensitive Proteins by Time-resolved Step-scan Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy

Published on: June 27, 2014

Determination of Photoreceptor Cell Spectral Sensitivity in an Insect Model from In Vivo Intracellular Recordings08:33

Determination of Photoreceptor Cell Spectral Sensitivity in an Insect Model from In Vivo Intracellular Recordings

Published on: February 26, 2016

Related Concept Videos

Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways01:22

Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways

At the molecular level, visual signals trigger transformations in photopigment molecules, resulting in changes in the photoreceptor cell's membrane potential. The photon's energy level is denoted by its wavelength, with each specific wavelength of visible light associated with a distinct color. The spectral range of visible light, classified as electromagnetic radiation, spans from 380 to 720 nm. Electromagnetic radiation wavelengths exceeding 720 nm fall under the infrared category, whereas...
Channel Rhodopsins01:11

Channel Rhodopsins

Most organisms use photoreceptors to sense and respond to light. Examples of photoreceptors include bacteriorhodopsins and bacteriophytochromes in some bacteria, phytochromes in plants, and rhodopsins in the photoreceptor cells of the vertebral retina. The light-sensitive property of these receptors is because of the bound chromophores, such as bilin in the phytochromes and retinal in the rhodopsins.
Rhodopsins belong to the family of cell surface proteins called G-protein coupled receptors,...
Anatomy of the Eyeball01:20

Anatomy of the Eyeball

The eye is a spherical, hollow structure composed of three tissue layers. The outer layer — the fibrous tunic, comprises the sclera — a white structure — and the cornea, which is transparent. The sclera encompasses some of the ocular surface, most of which is not visible. However, the 'white of the eye' is distinctively visible in humans compared to other species. The cornea, a clear covering at the front of the eye, enables light penetration. The eye's middle layer, the vascular tunic,...
Properties of Enantiomers and Optical Activity02:24

Properties of Enantiomers and Optical Activity

It is essential to understand the difference between chiral and achiral interactions and the implications thereof in optical activity and their applications. Just as our feet, which are chiral, interact uniquely with chiral objects, such as a pair of shoes, but identically with achiral socks, enantiomers of a molecule exhibit different properties only when they interact with other chiral media. An example of a significant implication from this facet is the phenomenon known as optical activity,...
The Retina01:32

The Retina

The retina is a layer of nervous tissue at the back of the eye that transduces light into neural signals. This process, called phototransduction, is carried out by rod and cone photoreceptor cells in the back of the retina.
Stereoisomerism02:52

Stereoisomerism

Isomerism in Complexes
Isomers are different chemical species that have the same chemical formula.
Transition metal complexes often exist as geometric isomers, in which the same atoms are connected through the same types of bonds but with differences in their orientation in space. Coordination complexes with two different ligands in the cis and trans positions from a ligand of interest form isomers. For example, the octahedral [Co(NH3)4Cl2]+ ion has two isomers (Figure 1) In the cis...