Functional role of positively selected amino acid substitutions in mammalian rhodopsin evolution.

ABSTRACT: Visual rhodopsins are membrane proteins that function as light photoreceptors in the vertebrate retina. Specific amino acids have been positively selected in visual pigments during mammal evolution, which, as products of adaptive selection, would be at the base of important functional innovations. We have analyzed the top candidates for positive selection at the specific amino acids and the corresponding reverse changes (F13M, Q225R and A346S) in order to unravel the structural and functional consequences of these important sites in rhodopsin evolution. We have constructed, expressed and immunopurified the corresponding mutated pigments and analyzed their molecular phenotypes. We find that position 13 is very important for the folding of the receptor and also for proper protein glycosylati

SUBMITTER: Fernandez-Sampedro MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4749998 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature