Protein translocation in photoreceptor light adaptation: a common theme in vertebrate and invertebrate vision.

How do our eyes adjust to daily light levels that vary by almost 11 orders of magnitude? Research shows that, in both vertebrates and invertebrates, signaling proteins are translocated in a light-dependent manner between the photoreceptor cellular compartments where visual transduction takes place, and the rest of the photoreceptor cell. Protein translocation is likely to contribute to photoreceptor light adaptation by adjusting the sensitivity and speed of photoresponse to ever-changing conditions of ambient illumination.