Inoue Keiichi, Tsukamoto Takashi, Sudo Yuki
Department of Frontier Materials, Nagoya Institute of Technology, Showa-ku, Nagoya 466-8555, Japan; Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), PRESTO, 4-1-8 Honcho Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan.
Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, 464-8602, Japan.
Biochim Biophys Acta. 2014 May;1837(5):562-77. doi: 10.1016/j.bbabio.2013.05.005. Epub 2013 Jun 1.
Retinal proteins (~rhodopsins) are photochemically reactive membrane-embedded proteins, with seven transmembrane α-helices which bind the chromophore retinal (vitamin A aldehyde). They are widely distributed through all three biological kingdoms, eukarya, bacteria and archaea, indicating the biological significance of the retinal proteins. Light absorption by the retinal proteins triggers a photoisomerization of the chromophore, leading to the biological function, light-energy conversion or light-signal transduction. This article reviews molecular and evolutionary aspects of the light-signal transduction by microbial sensory receptors and their related proteins. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Retinal Proteins - You can teach an old dog new tricks.
视网膜蛋白（如视紫红质）是具有光化学反应活性的膜嵌入蛋白，含有七个跨膜α螺旋，可结合发色团视黄醛（维生素A醛）。它们广泛分布于真核生物、细菌和古细菌这三个生物界，这表明了视网膜蛋白的生物学意义。视网膜蛋白吸收光会引发发色团的光异构化，从而导致生物功能、光能转换或光信号转导。本文综述了微生物感官受体及其相关蛋白光信号转导的分子和进化方面。本文是名为《视网膜蛋白——老狗也能学新招》特刊的一部分。
