2024 Volume 64 Issue 3 Pages 127-131
Rhodopsins convert light into signals and energy in animals and microbes. Heliorhodopsins (HeRs), a recently discovered new rhodopsin family, are widely present in archaea, bacteria, unicellular eukaryotes, and giant viruses, however their function remains unknown. Here we report that a viral HeR from marine giant virus (V2HeR3) is a light-activated proton transporter. Three environmental viral HeRs from the same group, as well as a more distantly related HeR exhibited similar ion transport activity. We here propose a proton transporting mechanism and physiological role of HeRs.
