The evolution of red color vision is linked to coordinated rhodopsin tuning in lycaenid butterflies.

ABSTRACT: Color vision has evolved multiple times in both vertebrates and invertebrates and is largely determined by the number and variation in spectral sensitivities of distinct opsin subclasses. However, because of the difficulty of expressing long-wavelength (LW) invertebrate opsins in vitro, our understanding of the molecular basis of functional shifts in opsin spectral sensitivities has been biased toward research primarily in vertebrates. This has restricted our ability to address whether invertebrate G_q protein-coupled opsins function in a novel or convergent way compared to vertebrate G_t opsins. Here we develop a robust heterologous expression system to purify invertebrate rhodopsins, identify specific amino acid changes responsible for adaptive spectral tuning, and pi

SUBMITTER: Lienard MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8017955 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature