Multiple conductance states of the light-activated channel of Limulus ventral photoreceptors. Alteration of conductance state during light.

The properties of light-dependent channels in Limulus ventral photoreceptors have been studied in cell-attached patches. Two sizes of single-channel events are seen during illumination. Previous work has characterized the large (40 pS) events; the goal of the current work was to characterize the small (15 pS) events and determine their relationship to the large events. The small events are activated by light rather than as a secondary result of the change in membrane voltage during light. The mean open time of the small events is 1.34 +/- 0.49 ms (mean +/- SD, n = 15), approximately 50% of that of the large events. The large and small events have the same reversal potential and a similar dependence of open-state probability on voltage. Evidence that these events are due to different conductance states of the same channel comes from analysis of relatively infrequent events showing a direct transition between the 15 and 40-pS levels. Furthermore, large and small events do not superpose, even at positive voltages when the probability of being open is very high, as would be predicted if the two-sized events were due to independent channels. Expression of the different conductance states is not random; during steady illumination there are alternating periods of several hundred milliseconds in which there are consecutive, sequential large events followed by periods in which there are consecutive, sequential small events. At early times during the response to a step of light, the large conductance state is preferentially expressed. At later times, there is an increase in the relative contribution of the low conductance state. These findings indicate that there is a process that changes the preferred conductance state of the channel. This alteration has functional importance in the process of light adaptation.