Beyond Counting Photons: Trials and Trends in Vertebrate Visual Transduction

For over 30 years, photoreceptors have been an outstanding model system for elucidating basic principles in sensory transduction and G protein signaling. Recently, photoreceptors have become an equally attractive model for studying many facets of neuronal cell biology. The primary goal of this revie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neuron (Cambridge, Mass.) Mass.), 2005-11, Vol.48 (3), p.387-401
Main Authors: Burns, Marie E., Arshavsky, Vadim Y.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Crystal structure
GTP-Binding Proteins - metabolism
Humans
Light
Membranes
Models, Biological
Phosphorylation
Photons
Photoreceptor Cells, Vertebrate - classification
Photoreceptor Cells, Vertebrate - physiology
Photoreceptors
Proteins
Retina
Signal transduction
Studies
Trends
Vision, Ocular - physiology
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Summary:For over 30 years, photoreceptors have been an outstanding model system for elucidating basic principles in sensory transduction and G protein signaling. Recently, photoreceptors have become an equally attractive model for studying many facets of neuronal cell biology. The primary goal of this review is to illustrate this rapidly growing trend. We will highlight the areas of active research in photoreceptor biology that reveal how different specialized compartments of the cell cooperate in fulfilling its overall function: converting photon absorption into changes in neurotransmitter release. The same trend brings us closer to understanding how defects in photoreceptor signaling can lead to cell death and retinal degeneration.
ISSN:0896-6273
1097-4199
DOI:10.1016/j.neuron.2005.10.014