Abstract
FOR a wide variety of photoreceptor cells, it has been shown that light alters the conductance of the cell membrane, giving rise to the voltage response of the cell1–4. It is generally accepted that the primary event in the photo-excitation process is a light-induced isomerisation of the photopigment chromophore. The mechanisms linking this isomerisation to the conductance change remain unknown. It has been suggested recently that the transduction process may depend on oxidative metabolism. Intracellular recordings from photoreceptors of the honeybee (A pis)5, horseshoe crab (Limulus)5 and barnacle (Balanus)—observed recently by one of the authors (A.M.) in collaboration with R. Lantz—have shown that the light-induced conductance increase during illumination can be reversibly blocked by anoxia. Neither the site nor the mechanism of the action of anoxia on the transduction process is known. The light-induced spectral transitions of the photopigments are known, however, to take place under a variety of conditions including anoxia6–10.
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WONG, F., MAURO, A., WU, CF. et al. Persistence of prolonged light-induced conductance change in arthropod photoreceptors on recovery from anoxia. Nature 264, 661–664 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1038/264661a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/264661a0
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