opsin
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op·sin
(ŏp′sĭn)n.
Any of various light-sensitive proteins, especially one that is a constituent of a rhodopsin or other visual pigment found in the retina of the vertebrate eye.
[Probably back-formation from rhodopsin.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
opsin
(ˈɒpsɪn)n
(Biochemistry) the protein that together with retinene makes up the purple visual pigment rhodopsin
[C20: back formation from rhodopsin]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
op•sin
(ˈɒp sɪn)n.
any of several compounds that form the protein component of the light-sensitive pigment rhodopsin.
[1950–55; probably back formation from rhodopsin]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Noun | 1. | opsin - retinal protein formed by the action of light on rhodopsin protein - any of a large group of nitrogenous organic compounds that are essential constituents of living cells; consist of polymers of amino acids; essential in the diet of animals for growth and for repair of tissues; can be obtained from meat and eggs and milk and legumes; "a diet high in protein" iodopsin - a violet photopigment in the retinal cones of the eyes of most vertebrates; plays a role in daylight vision retinal purple, rhodopsin, visual purple - a red photopigment in the retinal rods of vertebrates; dissociates into retinene by light |
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