An X-ray diffraction study on a single rod outer segment from frog retina.
X-ray diffraction patterns were recorded from isolated single rod outer segments of frog. The outer segments in Ringer's solution were exposed to a 6 µm microbeam (15 keV) at the BL40XU beamline, SPring-8. The diffraction pattern demonstrated a remarkable regularity in the stacking and flatness of the disk membranes. The electron density profile calculated from the intensity of up to tenth-order reflections showed a pair of bilayers that comprise a disk membrane. The structure of the disk membrane and the changes in the profile on swelling generally agreed with previous reports. Radiation damage was significant with an irradiation of 5 × 10(5) Gy which is much lower than the known damaging dose on proteins at the liquid-nitrogen temperature.
Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, SPring-8, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo-cho, Sayo-gun, Hyogo 679-5198, Japan. yagi@spring8.or.jp
Naoto
N
Yagi
Tatsuhito
T
Matsuo
Noboru
N
Ohta
D000818:Animals; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000737:chemistry; D011892:Rana catesbeiana; D012374:Rod Cell Outer Segment / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction