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Related Concept Videos

Channel Rhodopsins01:11

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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.
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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,...
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Updated: Oct 31, 2025

A Bioinformatics Pipeline for Investigating Molecular Evolution and Gene Expression using RNA-seq
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Structure-based insights into evolution of rhodopsins.

Dmitrii Zabelskii1,2,3, Natalia Dmitrieva4, Oleksandr Volkov1,2

  • 1Institute of Biological Information Processing (IBI-7: Structural Biochemistry), ForschungszentrumJülich, Jülich, Germany.

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Fungal rhodopsins, like the one from Leptosphaeria maculans, share structural similarities with archaeal proton pumps. This finding suggests a common evolutionary ancestor for eukaryotic and archaeal proton pumps.

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Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Structural Biology
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Rhodopsins are vital proton pumps found across all domains of life, crucial for energy generation.
  • While archaeal and bacterial rhodopsins are well-studied, eukaryotic rhodopsins remain less characterized.
  • Understanding fungal rhodopsins offers insights into early life evolution and proton pump diversity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To structurally and functionally analyze the fungal rhodopsin LR (Mac) from Leptosphaeria maculans.
  • To elucidate the evolutionary relationships between different rhodopsin families.
  • To provide a structure-based understanding of fungal rhodopsin function.

Main Methods:

  • High-resolution structural determination of fungal rhodopsin LR (Mac).
  • Functional analysis of the light-driven proton pump activity.
  • Comparative analysis of rhodopsin structures and sequences.

Main Results:

  • The first high-resolution structure of a fungal rhodopsin was determined.
  • LR (Mac) exhibits membrane domain similarities to archaeal rhodopsins, distinct from bacterial ones.
  • An extended N-terminal region was identified as crucial for protein stabilization via interaction with ECL2.

Conclusions:

  • Fungal rhodopsins share key structural features with archaeal proton pumps.
  • Eukaryotic and archaeal proton pumps likely evolved from a common ancestor.
  • This study advances the understanding of rhodopsin evolution and structural diversity.