text: Photoreceptor proteins typically consist of a protein attached to a non-protein chromophore (sometimes referred as photopigment, even so photopigment may also refer to the photoreceptor as a whole). The chromophore reacts to light via photoisomerization or photoreduction, thus initiating a change of the receptor protein which triggers a signal transduction cascade. Chromophores found in photoreceptors include retinal (retinylidene proteins, for example rhodopsin in animals), flavin (flavoproteins, for example cryptochrome in plants and animals) and bilin (biliproteins, for example phytochrome in plants). The plant protein UVR8 is exceptional amongst photoreceptors in that it contains no external chromophore. Instead, UVR8 absorbs light through tryptophan residues within its protein coding sequence.