Abstract
THE visual chromophores, 11-cis and all-trans retinal (Fig. 1), are present in both rod and cone cells of vertebrate retinas and in the corresponding organs of insects and Crustacea1. The isomerization of the 11-cis isomer to the trans form may be the only step in the visual process which is initiated by light; several succeeding changes in the visual pigment are known to occur in the dark2,3. In spite of their importance in vision, the conformation of the chromophores have not been determined. Their three dimensional configurations in the crystalline state are presented in this communication.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Wald, G., Nature, 219, 800 (1968).
Hubbard, R., and Kropf, A., Proc. US Nat. Acad. Sci., 44, 130 (1958).
Kropf, A., and Hubbard, R., Ann. NY Acad. Sci., 74, 266 (1958).
Langlet, J., Pullman, B., and Berthod, H., J. Chim. Physiol., 67, 480 (1969).
Nash, H. A., J. Theoret. Biol., 22, 314 (1969).
Wiesenfeld, J. R., and Abrahamson, E. W., Photochem. Photobiol., 8, 487 (1968).
Hubbard, R., J. Biol. Chem., 241, 1814 (1966).
Dieterle, J. M., and Robeson, C. D., Science, 120, 219 (1954).
Oroshnik, W., Brown, P. K., Hubbard, R., and Wald, G., Proc. US Nat. Acad. Sci., 42, 578 (1956).
Kuwabara, M., Hamanaka, T., and Mitsui, T., J. Physiol. Soc. Japan, 25, 920 (1968).
Karle, J., and Karle, I. L., Acta Cryst., 21, 849 (1966).
Klyne, W., and Prelog, V., Experientia, 16, 521 (1960).
Bart, J. C. J., and MacGillavry, C. H., Acta Cryst., B 24, 1587 (1968).
Patel, D. J., Nature, 221, 825 (1969).
Sperling, W., and Rafferty, C. N., Nature, 224, 591 (1969).
Honig, B., and Karplus, M., Nature, 229, 558 (1971).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
GILARDI, R., KARLE, I., KARLE, J. et al. Crystal Structure of the Visual Chromophores, 11-cis and all-trans Retinal. Nature 232, 187–189 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1038/232187c0
Received:
Revised:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/232187c0
This article is cited by
-
Temporal shifts in visual pigment absorbance in the retina of Pacific salmon
Journal of Comparative Physiology A (2005)
-
A free-electron study of color vision
Journal of Crystallographic and Spectroscopic Research (1990)
-
The effects of temperature and light on particles associated with crayfish visual membrane: a freeze-fracture analysis and electrophysiological study
Journal of Neurocytology (1984)
-
Conformational investigation on retinal by PCILO method
Proceedings / Indian Academy of Sciences (1981)
-
Photochemistry and dark equilibrium of retinal isomers and bacteriorhodopsin isomers
Biophysics of Structure and Mechanism (1977)
