Photosensitive retinal pigments

This issue contains a selection of reviews and papers on the topic of photosensitive retinal pigments. Interestingly, the word retinal has a dual meaning in this selection of papers. The pigments discussed in these papers are all located in the retina of the eye, with melanopsin and VA opsin located in the inner retina, parapinopsin in the outer retina (or pineal gland) and the bis-retinoids and carotenoids in the retinal pigment epithelium. Furthermore, the pigments all either use vitamin A aldehyde (retinal) as their chromophore, thus allowing the absorption of light, or contain vitamin A derivatives as the base of their structure. The structure, function and evolution of rhodopsins are discussed in several reviews and papers. The fate of the retinal chromophore on the absorption of light is covered in another. Bistable rhodopsins such as melanopsin and parapinopsin are also reviewed. In addition, a method for quantitative measurements of the light-induced body color change in zebrafish larvae is discussed. Several papers address the bis-retinoids of the retina, particularly A2E, which is an important aging topic. The carotenoid-binding proteins, which are also likely to be of clinical relevance, are also reviewed. The editors hope that you find this selection of papers ranging from techniques to full reviews interesting and informative.

 

Rosalie Crouch and Yoshinori Shichida

Guest editors

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