Super-Resolution Imaging of Native Fluorescent Photoreceptors in Chytrid Fungal Eyes

ABSTRACT: Photoorientation in motile fungal zoospores is mediated by rhodopsin guanylyl cyclases (RGCs). In certain chytrids, these photoreceptors form heterodimers consisting of a visible-light-absorbing RGC paired with neorhodopsin (NeoR), a rhodopsin distinguished by its unique spectral properties: far-red absorption and high fluorescence. Leveraging the native fluorescence of NeoR, we detected RGCs in living zoospores of the fungus Rhizoclosmatium globosum. The reversible photoswitching of bistable NeoR enabled super-resolution microscopy, facilitating single-molecule detection and quantification of NeoR proteins within individual zoospores. This approach also revealed the precise localization of RGCs within the rumposome, a chytrid-specific organelle hypothesized to mediate photoreception. Fluo

SUBMITTER: Wayne Busse 

PROVIDER: S-SCDT-10_1038-S44318-025-00452-X | biostudies-other |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other