title: L, M and L-M hybrid cone photopigments in man: deriving lambda max from flicker photometric spectral sensitivities.
abstract: Using heterochromatic flicker photometry, we have measured the corneal spectral sensitivities of the X-chromosome-linked photopigments in 40 dichromats, 37 of whom have a single opsin gene in their tandem array. The photopigments encoded by their genes include: the alanine variant of the normal middle-wavelength sensitive photopigment, M(A180); the alanine and serine variants of the normal long-wavelength sensitive photopigment, L(A180) and L(S180); four different L-M hybrid or anomalous photopigments, L2M3(A180), L3M4(S180), L4M5(A180) and L4M5(S180); and two variants of the L-cone photopigment, encoded by genes with embedded M-cone exon two sequences, L(M2; A180) and L(M2; S180). The peak absorbances (lambda max) of the underlying photopigment spectra associated with each genotype were estimated by correcting the corneal spectral sensitivities back to the retinal level, after removing the effects of the macular and lens pigments and fitting a template of fixed shape to the dilute photopigment spectrum. Details of the genotype-phenotype correlations are summarized elsewhere (Sharpe, L. T., Stockman, A., Jägle, H., Knau, H., Klausen, G., Reitner, A. et al. (1998). J. Neuroscience, 18, 10053-10069). Here, we present the individual corneal spectral sensitivities for the first time as well as details and a comparison of three analyses used to estimate the lambda max values, including one in which the lens and macular pigment densities of each observer were individually measured.
authors.affiliation: Forschungsstelle für Experimentelle Ophthalmologie, Tübingen, Germany. ted.sharpe@uni-tuebingen.de
authors.forename: L T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Sharpe
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stockman
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jägle
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Knau
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nathans
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000409:Alanine / Q000235:genetics; D003118:Color Perception / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D003119:Color Perception Tests; D003117:Color Vision Defects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D005425:Flicker Fusion; D006801:Humans; D007908:Lens, Crystalline / Q000737:chemistry; D008266:Macula Lutea / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male; D010783:Photometry / Q000379:methods*; D010860:Pigments, Biological; D017949:Retinal Cone Photoreceptor Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D017299:Rod Opsins / Q000235:genetics; D012694:Serine / Q000235:genetics; D014960:X Chromosome
chemical_list: D010860:Pigments, Biological; D017299:Rod Opsins; D012694:Serine; D000409:Alanine