Evolution of vertebrate rod and cone phototransduction genes.

ABSTRACT: Vertebrate cones and rods in several cases use separate but related components for their signal transduction (opsins, G-proteins, ion channels, etc.). Some of these proteins are also used differentially in other cell types in the retina. Because cones, rods and other retinal cell types originated in early vertebrate evolution, it is of interest to see if their specific genes arose in the extensive gene duplications that took place in the ancestor of the jawed vertebrates (gnathostomes) by two tetraploidizations (genome doublings). The ancestor of teleost fishes subsequently underwent a third tetraploidization. Our previously reported analyses showed that several gene families in the vertebrate visual phototransduction cascade received new members in the basal tetraploidizations. We here ex

SUBMITTER: Larhammar D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2781860 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature