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Related Concept Videos

The Retina01:32

The Retina

The retina is a layer of nervous tissue at the back of the eye that transduces light into neural signals. This process, called phototransduction, is carried out by rod and cone photoreceptor cells in the back of the retina.
Vision01:24

Vision

Vision is the result of light being detected and transduced into neural signals by the retina of the eye. This information is then further analyzed and interpreted by the brain. First, light enters the front of the eye and is focused by the cornea and lens onto the retina—a thin sheet of neural tissue lining the back of the eye. Because of refraction through the convex lens of the eye, images are projected onto the retina upside-down and reversed.
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Tumor suppressor genes are normal genes that can slow down cell division, repair DNA mistakes, or program the cells for apoptosis in case of irreparable damage. Hence, they play an essential role in preventing the proliferation of damaged cells.
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The eye is a spherical, hollow structure composed of three tissue layers. The outer layer — the fibrous tunic, comprises the sclera — a white structure — and the cornea, which is transparent. The sclera encompasses some of the ocular surface, most of which is not visible. However, the 'white of the eye' is distinctively visible in humans compared to other species. The cornea, a clear covering at the front of the eye, enables light penetration. The eye's middle layer, the vascular tunic,...
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At the molecular level, visual signals trigger transformations in photopigment molecules, resulting in changes in the photoreceptor cell's membrane potential. The photon's energy level is denoted by its wavelength, with each specific wavelength of visible light associated with a distinct color. The spectral range of visible light, classified as electromagnetic radiation, spans from 380 to 720 nm. Electromagnetic radiation wavelengths exceeding 720 nm fall under the infrared category, whereas...
Color Vision01:24

Color Vision

Color perception begins in the retina, the light-sensitive layer at the back of the eye. Two main theories explain how colors are seen: the trichromatic theory and the opponent-process theory. The trichromatic theory, proposed by Thomas Young in 1802 and extended by Hermann von Helmholtz in 1852, suggests that color vision is based on three types of cone receptors in the retina. These cones are sensitive to different but overlapping ranges of wavelengths corresponding to red, blue, and green.

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A Method for Lineage Tracing of Corneal Cells Using Multi-color Fluorescent Reporter Mice
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Stochastic spineless expression creates the retinal mosaic for colour vision.

Mathias F Wernet1, Esteban O Mazzoni1, Arzu Çelik1

  • 1Center for Developmental Genetics, Department of Biology, New York University, 100 Washington Place, New York, New York 10003, USA.

Nature
|March 10, 2006
PubMed
Summary

The Drosophila dioxin receptor Spineless is crucial for creating the retinal mosaic essential for color vision. Its expression in R7 cells determines whether ommatidia become

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Drosophila color vision relies on R7 and R8 photoreceptor cells within ommatidia.
  • Two ommatidial subtypes, 'pale' and 'yellow', exist, determined by distinct rhodopsin expression.
  • These subtypes are stochastically distributed across the retina, similar to human cone photoreceptors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify the molecular mechanisms governing the stochastic formation of Drosophila retinal ommatidial subtypes.
  • To investigate the role of the dioxin receptor Spineless in establishing the pale and yellow ommatidial mosaic.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of spineless (ss) mutants to observe effects on R7 and R8 cell fate.
  • Overexpression studies of spineless in R7 cells to assess its sufficiency in fate determination.
  • Temporal analysis of spineless expression during pupation relative to rhodopsin expression.

Main Results:

  • Spineless is necessary for the formation of the ommatidial mosaic; spineless mutants exhibit a uniform 'pale' fate in R7 and R8 cells.
  • A transient burst of spineless expression in R7 cells precedes rhodopsin expression, dictating ommatidial subtype.
  • Overexpression of spineless is sufficient to induce the 'yellow' R7 cell fate, overriding the default 'pale' fate.

Conclusions:

  • The transcription factor Spineless is both necessary and sufficient for establishing the stochastic ommatidial mosaic in Drosophila.
  • A single transcription factor, Spineless, controls the entire retinal mosaic required for Drosophila's color vision.
  • This finding provides a key insight into the genetic regulation of sensory mosaic formation.