Initial Spectroscopic Characterization of the Ciliate Photoreceptor Stentorin

摘要

Single cell ciliates Blepharisma and Stentor are light-sensitive. They perceivelight signals in eliciting cellular signal transduction cascades which end with mechanical response (i.e. ciliary stroke reversal and momentary movement stop). In this reprint, we report for the first time the elucidation of the chemical structure of stentorin as the light-sensor molecule in Stentor. The chemical structure of stentorin is hypericin-derived, and is closely related, but not identical, to the structure of blepharismin, the light-sensor molecule in Blepharisma.