Metal Transporter
Light-sensing neurons
This image shows blue-light sensing arousal neurons
A UC Irvine research team led by Todd C. Holmes has discovered a second form of phototransduction light sensing in cells that is derived from vitamin B2. This discovery may reveal new information about cellular processes controlled by light. For more than 100 years, it had been believed that the phototransduction process was solely based on a chemical derived from vitamin A called retinal. Phototransduction is the conversion of light signals into electrical signals in photoreceptive neurons and underlies both image-forming and non-image-forming light sensing. In discovering this new light-sensing phototransduction mechanism, the UCI scientists found that phototransduction can also be mediated by a protein called cryptochrome, which uses a B2 vitamin chemical derivative for light sensing. Cryptochromes are blue-light photoreceptors found in circadian and arousal neurons that regulate slow biochemical processes, but this is the first time they have been linked to rapid phototransduction.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments