Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Expression of Fluorescent Proteins in Branchiostoma lanceolatum by mRNA Injection into Unfertilized Oocytes
Published on: January 12, 2015
Characterization of novel GPCR gene coding locus in amphioxus genome: gene structure, expression, and phylogenetic
1Department of Zoology, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan. gouki@mbox.media.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Abstract:
Chemosensation is the primary sensory modality in almost all metazoans. The vertebrate olfactory receptor genes exist as tandem clusters in the genome, so that identifying their evolutionary origin would be useful for understanding the expansion of the sensory world in relation to a large-scale genomic duplication event in a lineage leading to the vertebrates. In this study, I characterized a novel GPCR (G-protein-coupled receptor) gene-coding locus from the amphioxus genome. The genomic DNA contains an intronless ORF whose deduced amino acid sequence encodes a seven-transmembrane protein with some amino acid residues characteristic of vertebrate olfactory receptors (ORs). Surveying counterparts in the Ciona intestinalis (Asidiacea, Urochordata) genome by querying BLAST programs against the Ciona genomic DNA sequence database resulted in the identification of a remotely related gene. In situ hybridization analysis labeled primary sensory neurons in the rostral epithelium of amphioxus adults. Based on these findings, together with comparison of the developmental gene expression between amphioxus and vertebrates, I postulate that chemoreceptive primary sensory neurons in the rostrum are an ancient cell population traceable at least as far back in phylogeny as the common ancestor of amphioxus and vertebrates.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Transducer Mechanism: G Protein–Coupled Receptors
GPCRs are also called heptahelical, 7TM, or...
G Protein-coupled Receptors
GPCRs are also called heptahelical, 7TM, or serpentine receptors, and consist of seven (H1-H7) transmembrane alpha-helices that span the bilayer to form a cylindrical core. The transmembrane helices are connected by three extracellular loops and three...
G-Protein Gated Ion Channels
Sensory organs,...
Channel Rhodopsins
Rhodopsins belong to the family of cell surface proteins called G-protein coupled receptors,...
Reporter Genes
Commonly used reporter...
Exon Recombination
Exon shuffling follows “splice frame rules.” Each exon has three reading...

