In vitro biochemical assays to monitor rhodopsin function

Abstract

Rhodopsin is the dim-light photoreceptor responsible for initiation of the visual transduction cascade. In the dark its activity is very low, while light activation catalyzes the activation of its G-protein transducin. The first step in resetting rhodopsin and the phototransduction cascade involves the phosphorylation of light-active rhodopsin by rhodopsin kinase. Here, we describe assays to monitor the function of rhodopsin or rhodopsin mutants. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.