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Pinopsin evolved as the ancestral dim-light visual opsin in vertebrates
Keita Sato1, Takahiro Yamashita2, Keiichi Kojima3
1Department of Cytology and Histology, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama, 700-8558, Japan.
Pinopsin, an opsin related to visual pigments, may contribute to scotopic vision in some vertebrates. Found in retinas, its properties suggest a rhodopsin-like function in lower vertebrates.
Area of Science:
- * Evolutionary biology
- * Vision science
- * Molecular biology
Background:
- * Pinopsin is phylogenetically close to vertebrate visual pigments.
- * Previously, pinopsin was believed to function solely in extraocular photoreception within the brain of non-mammalian, non-teleost vertebrates.
Purpose of the Study:
- * To investigate the potential role of pinopsin in scotopic vision.
- * To explore the distribution and functional characteristics of pinopsin in vertebrate retinas.
Main Methods:
- * Phylogenetic analysis of opsin evolution.
- * Localization studies of pinopsin in retinal photoreceptor cells.
- * Biochemical analysis of pinopsin's chromophore isomerization rates.
Main Results:
- * Pinopsin is present in the retinas of non-teleost fishes and frogs, specifically in rod photoreceptor cells.
- * Pinopsin's retinal chromophore has a slow thermal isomerization rate, similar to rhodopsin.
- * These findings suggest pinopsin can function as a scotopic visual pigment.
Conclusions:
- * Pinopsin likely contributes to scotopic vision in certain lower vertebrate species.
- * The diversification of pinopsin predates rhodopsin, indicating a two-step evolutionary process for scotopic vision acquisition in vertebrates.
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