CRISPR/Cas9 mediated mutation of the mtnr1a melatonin receptor gene causes rod photoreceptor degeneration in developing Xenopus tropicalis.

ABSTRACT: Nighttime surges in melatonin levels activate melatonin receptors, which synchronize cellular activities with the natural light/dark cycle. Melatonin receptors are expressed in several cell types in the retina, including the photon-sensitive rods and cones. Previous studies suggest that long-term photoreceptor survival and retinal health is in part reliant on melatonin orchestration of circadian homeostatic activities. This scenario would accordingly envisage that disruption of melatonin receptor signaling is detrimental to photoreceptor health. Using in vivo CRISPR/Cas9 genomic editing, we discovered that a small deletion mutation of the Mel1a melatonin receptor (mtnr1a) gene causes a loss of rod photoreceptors in retinas of developing Xenopus tropicalis heterozygous, but not homozygous m

SUBMITTER: Wiechmann AF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7426423 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature