G proteins and phototransduction.
Phototransduction is the process by which a photon of light captured by a molecule of visual pigment generates an electrical response in a photoreceptor cell. Vertebrate rod phototransduction is one of the best-studied G protein signaling pathways. In this pathway the photoreceptor-specific G protein, transducin, mediates between the visual pigment, rhodopsin, and the effector enzyme, cGMP phosphodiesterase. This review focuses on two quantitative features of G protein signaling in phototransduction: signal amplification and response timing. We examine how the interplay between the mechanisms that contribute to amplification and those that govern termination of G protein activity determine the speed and the sensitivity of the cellular response to light.[1]References
- G proteins and phototransduction. Arshavsky, V.Y., Lamb, T.D., Pugh, E.N. Annu. Rev. Physiol. (2002) [Pubmed]
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