The Visual System; Retina: photoreceptors and phototransduction

Please answer two out of the five questions given below with a text of about 1/2 of
an A4 page (single spaced, font Arial 12 pt) and upload your answers to ILIAS (no
more than one page of text in total). If you like, drawings may be included, these will
not be counted towards the page limit. Please submit your answers on ILIAS by
December 3rd, 2021.

Tutorial questions
1. Photoreceptors convert photons of light into an electro-chemical output signal.
What is the phototransduction cascade? What are its components and how does
it work? What is the output signal that a photoreceptor generates?
2. After absorption of a photon of light the visual pigment needs to be recycled. How
is this done? Describe the different steps and cell types involved, and name key
enzymes involved.
3. Most vertebrate species have some form of color vision. What advantage does
color vision confer when compared to monochromatic vision? In humans, why is
the color blue not well suited for the display of fine detail?
4. Genetic diseases of the retina are relatively common and are characterized by a
large genetic heterogeneity. Try and find explanations for both phenomena.
5. Photoreceptors consume disproportionately large amounts of energy. Yet, the
question as to what (main) substrate (fuel) photoreceptor metabolism uses is still
under debate. What substrate could a photoreceptor potentially use and which
metabolic pathways would this involve?