Natural variation in stochastic photoreceptor specification and color preference in Drosophila.

ABSTRACT: Each individual perceives the world in a unique way, but little is known about the genetic basis of variation in sensory perception. In the fly eye, the random mosaic of color-detecting R7 photoreceptor subtypes is determined by stochastic on/off expression of the transcription factor Spineless (Ss). In a genome-wide association study, we identified a naturally occurring insertion in a regulatory DNA element in ss that lowers the ratio of Ss^ON to Ss^OFF cells. This change in photoreceptor fates shifts the innate color preference of flies from green to blue. The genetic variant increases the binding affinity for Klumpfuss (Klu), a zinc finger transcriptional repressor that regulates ss expression. Klu is expressed at intermediate levels to determine the no

SUBMITTER: Anderson C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5745083 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature