The present volume originated from the workshop "Transduction in Biological Sys tems," held at the Marine Biological Station of the Universidad de Valparaiso, Mon temar, Chile, May 23-30, 1988, and contains contributions from most of the partici pants in the workshop. The title of both the workshop and the book reflects accurately the central theme discussed during several days of intense debate and profound intellectual exchange in the peaceful environment offered by the central coast of Chile. It was apparent that the workshop was a great success-a sentiment expressed by many seasoned attendees, some of whom dared opinions as strong as "It was the best ever." There is no single reason to explain why this workshop was so successful. Certainly instrumental was the incredible effort displayed by the Chilean Organizing Committee in selecting adequate facilities and in organizing social events that supplemented the scien tific sessions and provided an authentic fraternal environment for the participants. Equally important were the foreign participants, who enthusiastically gave of their time to take part in the event, and the students, who came from Chile as well as from several other Latin American countries, and who applied the necessary pressure in their repeated demands for scientific clarity, accuracy, and sincerity.

Inhalt
I. Stimulus-Response Coupling.- A. Transduction in Sensory Cells.- 1 Dynamics of the Release of Calcium by Light and Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate in Limulus Ventral Photoreceptors.- 2 Second Messengers in Invertebrate Phototransduction.- 3 The cGMP-Gated Channels of Rod and Cone Photoreceptors.- 4 Functional Aspects of the cGMP-Activated Channel from Bovine Rod Outer Segments.- 5 A Complex Regulation of the cGMP-Dependent Channels of Retinal Rod Membranes by the cGMP Phosphodiesterase.- 6 Transduction, Signal Transference, and Encoding in Composite Chemoreceptors: A Comparison between Gustatory and Arterial Chemoreceptors.- B. Excitation-Secretion Coupling.- 7 Role of Membrane Receptors in Stimulus-Secretion Coupling.- 8 Glucose Dose Response of Pancreatic ?-Cells: Experimental and Theoretical Results.- 9 Electrical and Secretory Response to Cholinergic Stimulation in Mouse and Human Adrenal Medullary Chromaffin Cells.- 10 Calcium Currents and Hormone Secretion in the Rat Pituitary Gonadotroph.- 11 Synexin-Driven Membrane Fusion: Molecular Basis for Exocytosis.- 12 Signal Transduction and Ion Permeability in Adrenal Glomerulosa Cells.- C. Other Transduction Mechanisms.- 13 The Target of Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate in Nonmuscle Cells: Calciosome or Endoplasmic Reticulum?.- 14 Stimulus-Response Coupling in Mammalian Ciliated Cells: The Role of Ca2+ in Prostaglandin Stimulation.- 15 Hepatocyte Gap Junctions: Metabolic Regulation and Possible Role in Liver Metabolism.- 16 Mechanisms of Frequency Tuning in the Internal Ear.- II. Excitation-Contraction Coupling in Striated Muscle.- A. Sodium Channels and Sodium Pump.- 17 Coexistence of Different Types of Sodium Channels in Striated Muscle and Nerve.- 18 Sodium Pump in T-Tubules of Frog Muscle Fibers.- B. Calcium Channels in T-Tubule.- 19 Excitation-Contraction Coupling in Barnacle Muscle Fibers: Does Calcium Entry Trigger Contraction Directly?.- 20 Biochemical Structure of the Dihydropyridine Receptor.- 21 Role of Slow Inward Calcium Current in Excitation-Contraction Coupling.- C. Molecular Architecture of the Triad.- 22 Molecular Architecture of T-SR Junctions: Evidence for a Junctional Complex That Directly Connects the Two Membrane Systems.- 23 Proteins of the Triad Junction of Skeletal Muscle.- 24 Monoclonal Antibodies as Probes of Triad Structure and Excitation-Contraction Coupling in Skeletal Muscle.- D. Transduction at the Triad.- 25 A Third Role for Calcium in Excitation-Contraction Coupling.- 26 A Pharmacological Approach to the Physiological Mechanism of Excitation-Contraction Coupling.- 27 A Chemical Mechanism for Excitation-Contraction Coupling in Skeletal Muscle.- 28 What We Know and What We Would Like to Know about the Role of Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate in Skeletal Muscle.- 29 Calcium Release in Skinned Muscle Fibers: Effect of Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate.- 30 Metabolism of Phosphoinositides in Skeletal Muscle Membranes.- E. Calcium Release.- 31 Pharmacology of the Ryania Alkaloids: The Ester A, a Ryanodine Analog That Only Increases Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Calcium Permeability.- 32 Ca2+ Release Channel of Sarcoplasmic Reticulum: Characterization of the Regulatory Sites.- 33 Calcium Channels in Sarcoplasmic Reticulum Membranes Isolated from Skeletal Muscle.