Retention of duplicated long-wavelength opsins in mosquito lineages by positive selection and differential expression.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Opsins are light sensitive receptors associated with visual processes. Insects typically possess opsins that are stimulated by ultraviolet, short and long wavelength (LW) radiation. Six putative LW-sensitive opsins predicted in the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti and malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, and eight in the southern house mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatus, suggest gene expansion in the Family Culicidae (mosquitoes) relative to other insects. Here we report the first detailed molecular and evolutionary analyses of LW opsins in three mosquito vectors, with a goal to understanding the molecular basis of opsin-mediated visual processes that could be exploited for mosquito control.

Results

Time of divergence estimates suggest that the mosquito LW opsin

SUBMITTER: Giraldo-Calderon GI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5359912 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature