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Background Information

The retina is composed of several layers of cells, one of which is the layer of rod and cone photoreceptors. Rods and cones perceive light and transmit neuronal signals in response to light detection.
The strikingly polarized photoreceptor cell consists of two segments (an outer segment composed of many layers of membraneous disks and an inner segment where the cell nuclei resides) bridged by a connecting cilium. Since the outer segments lack protein synthetic machinery, opsin, other membrane proteins and cytoskeletal components of the ciliary axoneme must be vectorially transported from sites of synthesis near the nucleus into the outer segment.
Our research is currently focused on two molecules associated with the photoreceptor actin cytoskeleton, myosin 3A and fascin 2.
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