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Description

Short-wave-sensitive opsin 1 (UniProt: P51491, also known as S opsin, Blue cone photoreceptor pigment, Blue-sensitive opsin, BOP, Short wavelength-sensitive cone opsin) is encoded by the Opn1sw (also known as Bcp) gene (Gene ID: 12057) in murine species. Opsins are G-protein coupled protein with photoreceptor activity. Opsins contain seven transmembrane alpha-helical domains connected by three extra-cellular and three cytoplasmic loops. They are light-sensitive proteins found in photoreceptor cells of the retina. Based on sequence homology, the opsins are classified into six subfamilies: the vertebrate opsin/encephalopsin subfamily, the Go opsin subfamily, the Gs opsin subfamily, the invertebrate Gq opsin subfamily, the photoisomerase subfamily, and the neuropsin subfamily. They share less than 20 percent identity between subfamilies. Opsins provide the necessary environment for the absorption of light at a particular wavelength. Therefore, by providing a different opsin to the retinal, organisms can sense light of different wavelengths. S-opsin is a multi-pass membrane protein that is expressed in cone photoreceptor cells. They are light-absorbing molecules that mediate vision and contain an apoprotein, opsin, which is covalently linked to cis-retinal. It can increase spectral sensitivity in dim light.