Phosducin, also known as PDC, is a human

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...

and

gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "... Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a b ...

. It belongs to the phosducin family of proteins. This gene encodes a phosphoprotein, which is located in the outer and inner segments of the rod cells in the

retina The retina (from la, rete "net") is the innermost, light-sensitive layer of tissue of the eye of most vertebrates and some molluscs. The optics of the eye create a focused two-dimensional image of the visual world on the retina, which then ...

. This protein may participate in the regulation of visual phototransduction or in the integration of photoreceptor metabolism. It modulates the phototransduction cascade by interacting with the beta and gamma subunits of the retinal G-protein transducin. By associating with these subunits only, the Transducin alpha subunit will remain active for longer. This will increase the amount of time of visual excitation. This gene is a potential candidate gene for

retinitis pigmentosa Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a genetic disorder of the eyes that causes loss of vision. Symptoms include trouble seeing at night and decreasing peripheral vision (side and upper or lower visual field). As peripheral vision worsens, people may ...

and Usher syndrome type II. Alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been identified.

See also

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Further reading