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Updated: Jan 12, 2026
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Determination of Photoreceptor Cell Spectral Sensitivity in an Insect Model from In Vivo Intracellular Recordings
Published on: February 26, 2016
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An Ocean of Opsins.
Giacinto De Vivo1, Eric Pelletier2,3, Roberto Feuda1,4,5
1Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms (BEOM), Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Napoli, Italy.
Genome Biology and Evolution
|November 4, 2025
Summary
This study reveals opsin diversity across marine life using meta-omics. Researchers identified known opsin subfamilies in various metazoans, providing insights into their evolution and taxonomy.
Area of Science:
- Marine Biology
- Molecular Evolution
- Genomics
Background:
- Opsins are crucial photoreceptor proteins involved in vision.
- Understanding opsin diversity is key to comprehending visual system evolution across taxa.
- Meta-omic data offers a powerful lens to explore microbial and metazoan diversity in marine environments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the diversity and evolution of opsins in marine organisms.
- To analyze opsin sequences from large-scale meta-omic datasets.
- To provide taxonomic insights into known opsin subfamilies and phylogenetic relationships.
Main Methods:
- Utilized meta-omic data from the Tara Oceans and Tara Polar Circle expeditions.
- Employed sequence similarity methods for opsin identification.
- Conducted phylogenetic analyses to determine evolutionary relationships.
Main Results:
- Identified opsins across diverse metazoan groups, predominantly in arthropods and vertebrates.
- Detected all known opsin subfamilies: r-opsin, c-opsin, xenopsin, and Group-4 opsins.
- Discovered novel opsin sequences in understudied taxa like chaetognaths, rotifers, acoelomates, and tunicates.
Conclusions:
- The study reinforces existing phylogenetic hypotheses regarding opsin evolution.
- No new opsin families were discovered, but significant taxonomic insights were gained.
- The identified novel opsin sequences represent a valuable resource for future functional and diversity studies.
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