[Thermostability of the rhodopsins of several fish in the Sea of Japan].

Studies have been made on thermal denaturation of rhodopsin in hotoreceptive membranes of retinal rods of some Japan Sea fishes--Podthecus sp., Enophrys diceraus, Myoxocephalus stelleri, Pleurogrammus monopterygius, Sebastichthys trivittatus, Pheumatophorus japonicus, Gadus morhua, Theragia chaloogramma, Eleginus gracilis and Lepidopsetta herzensteini. It was shown that visual pigments of the species studied significantly differ in their thermostability, whereas with respect to their spectral properties they are rather similar (absorbtion maxima lie near 500 nm). Positive correlation between the thermostability level of rhodopsins and the environmental temperature of the species was found.