The gain of rod phototransduction: Reconciliation of biochemical and electrophysiological measurements

We have resolved a central and long-standing paradox in understanding the amplification of rod phototransduction by making direct measurements of the gains of the underlying enzymatic amplifiers. We find that under optimized conditions a single photoisomerized rhodopsin activates transducin molecules and phosphodiesterase (PDE) catalytic subunits at rates of 120-150/s, much lower than indirect estimates from lightscattering experiments. Further, we measure the Michaelis constant, K-m, of the rod PDE activated by transducin to be 10 mu M, at least 10-fold lower than published estimates. Thus, the gain of cGMP hydrolysis (determined by k(cat)/K-m) is at least 10-fold higher than reported in the literature. Accordingly, our results now provide a quantitative account of the overall gain of the rod cascade in terms of directly measured factors.