Molecular analysis of the evolutionary significance of ultraviolet vision in vertebrates.

ABSTRACT: Many fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and some mammals use UV vision for such basic activities as foraging, mate selection, and communication. UV vision is mediated by UV pigments in the short wavelength-sensitive type 1 (SWS1) group that absorb light maximally (lambda max) at approximately 360 nm. Reconstructed SWS1 pigments of most vertebrate ancestors have lambda max values of approximately 360 nm, whereas the ancestral avian pigment has a lambda max value of 393 nm. In the nonavian lineage, UV vision in many modern species is inherited directly from the vertebrate ancestor, whereas violet vision in others has evolved by different amino acid replacements at approximately 10 specific sites. In the avian lineage, the origin of the violet pigment and the subsequent restoration of UV pigm

SUBMITTER: Shi Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC166225 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature