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Quantal noise from human red cone pigment

Nature Neuroscience volume 11, pages 565–571 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

The rod pigment, rhodopsin, shows spontaneous isomerization activity. This quantal noise produces a dark light of ∼0.01 photons s−1 rod−1 in human, setting the threshold for rod vision. The spontaneous isomerization activity of human cone pigments has long remained a mystery because the effect of a single isomerized pigment molecule in cones, unlike that in rods, is small and beyond measurement. We have now overcome this problem by expressing human red cone pigment transgenically in mouse rods in order to exploit their large single-photon response, especially after genetic removal of a key negative-feedback regulation. Extrapolating the measured quantal noise of transgenic cone pigment to native human red cones, we obtained a dark rate of ∼10 false events s−1 cone−1, almost 103-fold lower than the overall dark transduction noise previously reported in primate cones. Our measurements provide a rationale for why mammalian red, green and blue cones have comparable sensitivities, unlike their amphibian counterparts.

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Figure 1: Mouse rods expressing transgenic human red cone pigment.
Figure 2: Responses and action spectrum of mouse rods expressing transgenic red cone pigment.
Figure 3: Estimate of percentage of red cone pigment in transgenic mouse rods.
Figure 4: Expression of human red cone pigment in Rho+/+Gcaps−/− background.
Figure 5: Measurement of spontaneous isomerization rate of red cone pigment.
Figure 6: Background adaptation of wild-type (Rho+/+) mouse rods.

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Acknowledgements

We thank J. Lai for help in generating the transgene construct, Y. Liang, L. Ding, and Y. Wang for mouse genotyping, J. Chen (University of Southern California School of Medicine) for the Gcaps−/− and Sag−/− mice and J. Lem (Tufts University School of Medicine) for the Rho−/− mice, as well as J. Nathans (Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine) and R. Molday (University of British Columbia) for their gifts of antibodies. We are indebted to P. Ala-Laurila, D. Baylor, and J. Schnapf for discussions. This work was supported by grant EY 06837 from the US National Eye Institute to K.-W.Y.

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Author notes

  1. Yingbin Fu & Vladimir Kefalov

    Present address: Present addresses: Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, 65 Medical Drive, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah 84132, USA (Y.F.) and Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, 660 S. Euclid, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, USA (V.K.).,

  2. Yingbin Fu, Vladimir Kefalov, Dong-Gen Luo and Tian Xue: These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Room 907 Preclinical Teaching Building, 725 North Wolfe Street, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, 21205, Maryland, USA

    Yingbin Fu, Vladimir Kefalov, Dong-Gen Luo, Tian Xue & King-Wai Yau

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, Room 907 Preclinical Teaching Building, 725 North Wolfe Street, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, 21205, Maryland, USA

    King-Wai Yau

  3. Center for Sensory Biology, Room 907 Preclinical Teaching Building, 725 North Wolfe Street, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, 21205, Maryland, USA

    Yingbin Fu, Vladimir Kefalov, Dong-Gen Luo, Tian Xue & King-Wai Yau

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Correspondence to King-Wai Yau.

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Fu, Y., Kefalov, V., Luo, DG. et al. Quantal noise from human red cone pigment. Nat Neurosci 11, 565–571 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.2110

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