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The molecular genetics and evolution of colour and polarization vision in stomatopod crustaceans

Cronin, T W ; Porter, M L ; Bok, M J LU ; Wolf, J B and Robinson, P R (2010) In Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists) 30(5). p.460-469
Abstract

Stomatopod crustaceans have the most complex assemblage of visual receptor classes known; retinas of many species are thought to express up to 16 different visual pigments. Physiological studies indicate that stomatopods contain up to six distinct middle-wavelength-sensitive (MWS) photoreceptor classes, suggesting that no more than six different MWS opsin gene copies exist per species. However, we previously reported the unexpected expression of 6-15 different MWS genes in retinas of each of five stomatopod species (Visual Neurosci 26: 255-266, 2009). Here, we present a review of the results reported in this publication, plus new results that shed light on the origins of the diverse colour and polarization visual capabilities of... (More)

Stomatopod crustaceans have the most complex assemblage of visual receptor classes known; retinas of many species are thought to express up to 16 different visual pigments. Physiological studies indicate that stomatopods contain up to six distinct middle-wavelength-sensitive (MWS) photoreceptor classes, suggesting that no more than six different MWS opsin gene copies exist per species. However, we previously reported the unexpected expression of 6-15 different MWS genes in retinas of each of five stomatopod species (Visual Neurosci 26: 255-266, 2009). Here, we present a review of the results reported in this publication, plus new results that shed light on the origins of the diverse colour and polarization visual capabilities of stomatopod crustaceans. Using in situ hybridization of opsins in photoreceptor cells, we obtained new results that support the hypothesis of an ancient functional division separating spatial and polarizational vision from colour vision in the stomatopods. Since evolutionary trace analysis indicates that stomatopod MWS opsins have diverged both with respect to spectral tuning and to cytoplasmic interactions, we have now further analyzed these data in an attempt to uncover the origins, diversity and potential specializations among clades for specific visual functions. The presence of many clusters of highly similar transcripts suggests exuberant opsin gene duplication has occurred in the stomatopods, together with more conservative, ancient gene duplication events within the stem crustacean lineage. Phylogenetic analysis of opsin relatedness suggests that opsins specialized for colour vision have diverged from those devoted to polarization vision, and possibly motion and spatial vision.

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author
; ; ; and
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
keywords
Animals, Color Vision/genetics, Crustacea/classification, Evolution, Molecular, Genetic Variation, In Situ Hybridization/methods, Opsins/genetics, Photoreceptor Cells, Invertebrate/physiology, Phylogeny, Visual Perception/genetics
in
Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists)
volume
30
issue
5
pages
460 - 469
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • pmid:20883329
  • scopus:77956157169
ISSN
0275-5408
DOI
10.1111/j.1475-1313.2010.00762.x
language
English
LU publication?
no
additional info
© 2010 The Authors, Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics © 2010 The College of Optometrists.
id
a7d4713a-4ada-4fff-9323-d9128095235c
date added to LUP
2020-10-09 10:14:38
date last changed
2024-05-15 20:21:41
@article{a7d4713a-4ada-4fff-9323-d9128095235c,
  abstract     = {{<p>Stomatopod crustaceans have the most complex assemblage of visual receptor classes known; retinas of many species are thought to express up to 16 different visual pigments. Physiological studies indicate that stomatopods contain up to six distinct middle-wavelength-sensitive (MWS) photoreceptor classes, suggesting that no more than six different MWS opsin gene copies exist per species. However, we previously reported the unexpected expression of 6-15 different MWS genes in retinas of each of five stomatopod species (Visual Neurosci 26: 255-266, 2009). Here, we present a review of the results reported in this publication, plus new results that shed light on the origins of the diverse colour and polarization visual capabilities of stomatopod crustaceans. Using in situ hybridization of opsins in photoreceptor cells, we obtained new results that support the hypothesis of an ancient functional division separating spatial and polarizational vision from colour vision in the stomatopods. Since evolutionary trace analysis indicates that stomatopod MWS opsins have diverged both with respect to spectral tuning and to cytoplasmic interactions, we have now further analyzed these data in an attempt to uncover the origins, diversity and potential specializations among clades for specific visual functions. The presence of many clusters of highly similar transcripts suggests exuberant opsin gene duplication has occurred in the stomatopods, together with more conservative, ancient gene duplication events within the stem crustacean lineage. Phylogenetic analysis of opsin relatedness suggests that opsins specialized for colour vision have diverged from those devoted to polarization vision, and possibly motion and spatial vision.</p>}},
  author       = {{Cronin, T W and Porter, M L and Bok, M J and Wolf, J B and Robinson, P R}},
  issn         = {{0275-5408}},
  keywords     = {{Animals; Color Vision/genetics; Crustacea/classification; Evolution, Molecular; Genetic Variation; In Situ Hybridization/methods; Opsins/genetics; Photoreceptor Cells, Invertebrate/physiology; Phylogeny; Visual Perception/genetics}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{5}},
  pages        = {{460--469}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Ophthalmic & physiological optics : the journal of the British College of Ophthalmic Opticians (Optometrists)}},
  title        = {{The molecular genetics and evolution of colour and polarization vision in stomatopod crustaceans}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-1313.2010.00762.x}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/j.1475-1313.2010.00762.x}},
  volume       = {{30}},
  year         = {{2010}},
}