Talk:Rhodopsin

Template:Wikiproject MCB

Hi, This is a good start on the rhodopsin page. Someone needs to expand it a bit (i.e. add 11-cis in front of the first retinaldehyde and add all-trans in front of the second. More important, rhodopsin absorbs green light (500 nm) not purple. Purple is not even a color of light. It results from the eye simultaneously registering red and blue light, which is what you get when you remove the green light from the mixture of colored light we call white. Rhodopsin looks purple because it absorbs green. It would also be good to add that there are lots of invertebrate rhodopsins besides the vertebrate ones. Otherwise, my 25 years of research experience with rhodopsin says you have done an excellent job. Best regards, James W. Lewis

I don't know why Emperorbma believed that rhodopsin absorbed the most at purple. If I understand the descriptions right, rhodopsin is really crimson (purplish-red), which makes sense since its peak absorbance is at a hue I call algæ (green-cyan), at 498 nm. Why can't I find a photograph of rhodopsin? lysdexia 01:55, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

All-trans retinal or a11-trans retinal

"light = 11-cis-retinal -> a11-trans-retinal -> conformational change in rhodopsin -> activate transducin (G protein) -> activate cGMP-phosphodiesterase -> cGMP hydrolyzes -> levels reduced in outer segment -> cGMP-sensitive Na+/Ca2+ channels in PM close -> PM hyperpolarized -> glutamate release inhibited = ø rod cell neurotransmitter released -> detected by bipolar cells -> stimulate ganglion cells -> transmit signal to brain"

Links

Online vitamins guide [1] was moved to vitamins article. Biophys 03:32, 14 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Merging?

This article should be merged with opsin. Any thoughts? Biophys 19:42, 5 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I'd recommend against the merge. The relationships among the opsins are complex, and can be better explained with separate articles. --Arcadian 22:29, 5 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

I agree as long as Rhodopsin and photopsins (for example) are separate articles, as it is right now. If we had an article about rhodopsins as a family that includes photopsins, then a merging could be considered, since both articles would represent the same proteins, but only with and without retinal... Right now the system of articles about these proteins seems to be rather complicated, but I do not have a clear idea how to improve this. Biophys 00:40, 10 September 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Overcompentence?

I think metazoan might not be "good style". Most readers will need to follow the link in "is expressed in metazoan photoreceptor cell" to learn that it is animal. So please don't be so sharp that others bleed. 91.152.95.139 (talk) 08:54, 8 May 2008 (UTC)[reply]