Unveiling the Initial Molecular Events of Vision
Researchers have used ultrafast time-resolved crystallography to determine how an isomerized twisted all-trans retinal stores the photon energy that is required to initiate the protein conformational changes associated with the formation of the G protein-binding signalling state. The study sheds light on the earliest stages of vision in vertebrates and points to fundamental aspects of the molecular mechanisms of agonist-mediated G protein-coupled receptor activation.