opsin

[ op-sin ]

noun

, Biochemistry.

1. any of several compounds that form the protein component of the light-sensitive retina pigment, rhodopsin.

opsin

/ ˈɒpsɪn /

noun

1. the protein that together with retinene makes up the purple visual pigment rhodopsin

Word History and Origins

Origin of opsin¹

First recorded in 1950–55; probably back formation from rhodopsin

Word History and Origins

Origin of opsin¹

C20: back formation from rhodopsin

Example Sentences

First, they introduce a genetic modification that causes neurons to produce a light-sensitive protein called opsin, the same type of protein that photoreceptors in the eye use to detect light.

From Science Daily

In 2018, researchers found that hogfish skin expressed a gene for an opsin protein, which is the same kind of protein that senses color in the retinas of eyes.

From Science Magazine

In a 2018 study, Schweikert's team found hogfish possess an opsin specifically sensitive to blue light in their skin, she said.

From Salon

Each of those has a photosensitive opsin, which is the molecule that changes shape when light is received, and which determines the cell’s sensitivity to wavelength.

From Scientific American

He received an injection in his worse eye of a harmless virus called an adeno-associated virus, which carried the gene for an opsin from algae.

From Science Magazine