Origin of discrete and continuous dark noise in rod photoreceptors.

The detection of a single photon by a rod photoreceptor is limited by two sources of physiological noise, called discrete and continuous noise. Discrete noise occurs as intermittent current deflections with a waveform very similar to that of the single-photon response to real light and is thought to be produced by spontaneous activation of rhodopsin. Continuous noise occurs as random and continuous fluctuations in outer-segment current and is usually attributed to some intermediate in the phototransduction cascade. To confirm the origin of these noise sources, we have recorded from retinas of mouse lines with rods having reduced levels of rhodopsin, transducin or phosphodiesterase. We show that the rate of discrete noise is diminished in proportion to the decrease in rhodopsin concentration, and that continuous noise is independent of transducin concentration but clearly elevated when the level of phosphodiesterase is reduced. Our experiments provide new molecular evidence that discrete noise is indeed produced by rhodopsin itself, and that continuous noise is generated by spontaneous activation of phosphodiesterase resulting in random fluctuations in outer-segment current. Significance Statement Retinal rod photoreceptors display quantum sensitivity, and two prominent sources of noise called discrete and continuous noise have been considered to be potentially limiting for the detection of single photons. Our study provides direct molecular evidence of the origin of dark noise in rod photoreceptors, confirming spontaneously activated rhodopsin as the origin of discrete noise and spontaneous activation of phosphodiesterase as the most likely source of the continuous noise.