biostudies-literatureKojima KCore Research for Evolutional Science and TechnologyJapan Agency for Medical Research and DevelopmentJapan Society for the Promotion of Science5367-5381https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9923458biostudies-literatureUnknown13(8)Rhodopsins, a family of photoreceptive membrane proteins, contain retinal as a chromophore and were firstly identified as reddish pigments from frog retina in 1876. Since then, rhodopsin-like proteins have been identified mainly from animal eyes. In 1971, a rhodopsin-like pigment was discovered from the archaeon <i>Halobacterium salinarum</i> and named bacteriorhodopsin. While it was believed that rhodopsin- and bacteriorhodopsin-like proteins were expressed only in animal eyes and archaea, respectively, before the 1990s, a variety of rhodopsin-like proteins (called animal rhodopsins or opsins) and bacteriorhodopsin-like proteins (called microbial rhodopsins) have been progressively identified from various tissues of animals and microorganisms, respectively. Here, we comprehensively introdRSC advancesConvergent evolution of animal and microbial rhodopsins.PMC992345820dm0207060h0004JP21H02446JP19K16090JP21H00404JP19H05396JP21K15054JP18H02411JPMJCR1656JP19H04727JP20K21482Sudo YKojima KfalseConvergent evolution of animal and microbial rhodopsins.Rhodopsins, a family of photoreceptive membrane proteins, contain retinal as a chromophore and were firstly identified as reddish pigments from frog retina in 1876. Since then, rhodopsin-like proteins have been identified mainly from animal eyes. In 1971, a rhodopsin-like pigment was discovered from the archaeon <i>Halobacterium salinarum</i> and named bacteriorhodopsin. While it was believed that rhodopsin- and bacteriorhodopsin-like proteins were expressed only in animal eyes and archaea, respectively, before the 1990s, a variety of rhodopsin-like proteins (called animal rhodopsins or opsins) and bacteriorhodopsin-like proteins (called microbial rhodopsins) have been progressively identified from various tissues of animals and microorganisms, respectively. Here, we comprehensively introd2023-01-01T00:00:00Z2023 Feb2025-05-18T12:27:28.836Z2025-02-19T03:27:21.962ZS-EPMC99234583679329410.1039/d2ra07073a