UV-light-dependent binding of a visual arrestin 1 isoform to photoreceptormembranes in a neuropteran (Ascalaphus) compound eye

Arrestins are regulators of the active state of G-protein-coupled receptors , Towards elucidating the function of different arrestin subfamilies in sen sory cells, we have isolated a novel arrestin 1, Am Arr1, from the UV photo receptors of the neuropteran Ascalaplius macavonius. Am Arr1 forms a phylog enetic clade with antennal and visual Arr1 isoforms of invertebrates,Am Arr 1 undergoes a light-dependent binding cycle to photoreceptor membranes, as reported earlier only for members of the arrestin 2 subfamily. This suggest s a common control mechanism for the active state of invertebrate rhodopsin s and G-protein-coupled receptors of antennal sensory cells, Furthermore, i t implies that a strict correlation of distinct arrestin isoforms to distin ct functions is not a general principle for invertebrate sensory cells. (C) 2001 Federation of European Biochemical Societies, Published bg Elsevier S cience B.V. All rights reserved.