Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 15, 2025

In Vitro Reconstitution of Light-harvesting Complexes of Plants and Green Algae
Published on: October 10, 2014
Ultrafast spectra and kinetics of human green-cone visual pigment at room temperature
Dinesh Dhankhar1, David Salom2,3, Krzysztof Palczewski2,3,4,5,6
1Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843.
Abstract:
Rhodopsin is the pigment that enables night vision, whereas cone opsins are the pigments responsible for color vision in bright-light conditions. Despite their importance for vision, cone opsins are poorly characterized at the molecular level compared to rhodopsin. Spectra and kinetics of the intermediate states of human green-cone visual pigment (mid-wavelength sensitive, or MWS opsin) were measured and compared with the intermediates and kinetics of bovine rhodopsin. All the major intermediates of the MWS opsin were recorded in the picosecond to millisecond time range. Several intermediates in MWS opsin appear to have characteristics similar to the intermediates of bovine rhodopsin; however, there are some marked differences. One of the most striking differences is in their kinetics, where the kinetics of the MWS opsin intermediates are slower compared to those of the bovine rhodopsin intermediates.
Related Concept Videos
Color Vision
UV–Vis Spectroscopy of Conjugated Systems
One of the factors influencing λmax is the extent...
Photoreceptors and Visual Pathways
The Retina
Anatomy of the Eyeball
Ultraviolet and Visible (UV–Vis) Spectroscopy: Overview

