The location of photopigment molecules in the cross-section of frog retinal receptor disk membranes.

The location of the photopigment molecules relative to the lipid hydrocarbon core of retinal receptor disk membranes was unknown. The photopigment molecules could occur entirely on the surface of the membrane, completely embedded in its hydrocarbon core, or at some intermediate location protruding into both the aqueous surface layer and the lipid core of the disk membrane. To resolve this uncertainty, we collected X-ray intensity data diffracted by the photopigment molecules in wet pellets of oriented frog retinal receptor disk membranes as a function of the electron density of the sedimentation medium. These data were fitted to a model which predicted the integrated intensity diffracted from the photopigment molecules as a function of the electron density of the sedimentation medium and the extent to which the molecule protruded into the aqueous surface layer and the lipid core of the disk membrane. This analysis showed that for the photopigment molecular diameter of approximately 42 A, about 28 A protrudes into the aqueous layer, and about 14 A into the lipid core for unbleached photopigment. Bleaching causes the photopigment to "sink" into the lipid core some 7 A. The partial embedding of the photopigment molecules in the lipid core introduces a correlation of the photopigment molecules with lipid hydrocarbon chains in the plane of the disk membranes.