Rhodopsin

In 1879, Wilhelm Kuhne first described phototransduction, the process where light is converted into an electrical signal by photoreceptor cells in the retina. He initially identified a protein that changes when exposed to light, later named rhodopsin, which is a crucial part of the phototransduction cascade.     

                                                                    Rhodopsin 

 Early studies in this field led to the discovery of the first G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), rhodopsin (Kuhne, 1879). 

                                 

A century later, the solution of rhodopsin’s crystal structure, the only so far for any GPCR, has greatly expanded our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying GPCR signaling (Palczewski et al., 2000).

Palczewski is best known for determining the structure of rhodopsin, a protein found in rods (one of two types of photoreceptors in the retina; the other being cones). Rhodopsin plays a central part in converting light into electrical signals, which are then transmitted to the brain for interpretation as the people and objects that we see.

Gene For Rhodopsin 

3q22.1

Phototransduction is the process by which a photon of light generates an electrical response in a photoreceptor cell. The biochemical and electrophysiological bases of phototransduction have been intensely investigated for decades.

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