Abstract
The transduction in photoreceptors and chemoreceptors has common mechanisms. In photoreceptors, activation of rhodopsin by light triggers the enzymatic cascade mediated by a G-pro-tein, transducin. In olfactory cells activation of the receptor molecule by odorant triggers the enzymatic cascade mediated by aG-protein, Golf. In taste receptor cells biochemical studies have also suggesteda metabotropic transduction hypothesis, but we recently identified a cationic channel that was directly gated by a bitter taste substance. By reviewing these recent studies carried out in our laboratory in the last 10 years, the transduction machinery in these sensory receptor cells are summarized.
