Squid retinochrome

Abstract

Retinochrome is a photosensitive pigment located primarily in the inner portions of the visual ceils of cephalopods. Its absorption spectrum resembles that of rhodopsin, but its chromophore is all-trans retinal, which light isomerizes to 11-cis, the reverse of the situation in rhodopsin. The 11-cis photoproduct of retinochrome slowly reverts to retinochrome in the dark. The chromophoric site of retinochrome is more reactive than that of most visual pigments: (a)Hydroxylamine converts retinochrome in the dark to all-tram retinal oxime + retinoehrome opsin. (b) Sodium borohydride reduces it to N-retinyl opsin. (c) λmax of retinochrome shifts from 500 to 515 nm as the pH is raised from 6 to 10, with a loss of absorption above pH 8; meanwhile above this pH a second band appears at shorter wavelengths with λmax 375 nm. These changes are reversible. (d) If retinochrome is incubated with alltrans 3-dehydroretinal (retinal2) in the dark, some 3-dehydroretinochrome (refinochrome2, λmax about 515 nm) is formed. Conversely, when rednochrome2, made by adding aU-trans retinal2 to bleached retinoehrome or retinochrome opsin, is incubated in the dark with all-trans retinal some of it is converted to retinoehrome. Retinal and 3-dehydroretinal therefore can replace each other as chromophores in the dark. © 1975, Rockefeller University Press., All rights reserved.