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Title: Exceptional diversity of opsin expression patterns in Neogonodactylus oerstedii (Stomatopoda) retinas

Stomatopod crustaceans possess some of the most complex animal visual systems, including at least 16 spectrally distinct types of photoreceptive units (e.g., assemblages of photoreceptor cells). Here we fully characterize the set of opsin genes expressed in retinal tissues and determine expression patterns of each in the stomatopodNeogonodactylus oerstedii. Using a combination of transcriptome and RACE sequencing, we identified 33 opsin transcripts expressed in eachN. oerstediieye, which are predicted to form 20 long-wavelength–sensitive, 10 middle-wavelength–sensitive, and three UV-sensitive visual pigments. Observed expression patterns of these 33 transcripts were highly unusual in five respects: 1) All long-wavelength and short/middle-wavelength photoreceptive units expressed multiple opsins, while UV photoreceptor cells expressed single opsins; 2) most of the long-wavelength photoreceptive units expressed at least one middle-wavelength–sensitive opsin transcript; 3) the photoreceptors involved in spatial, motion, and polarization vision expressed more transcripts than those involved in color vision; 4) there is a unique opsin transcript that is expressed in all eight of the photoreceptive units devoted to color vision; and 5) expression patterns in the peripheral hemispheres of the eyes suggest visual specializations not previously recognized in stomatopods. Elucidating the expression patterns of all opsin transcripts expressed in theN. oerstediiretina reveals the potential for previously undocumented functional diversity in the already complex stomatopod eye and is a first step toward understanding the functional significance of the unusual abundance of opsins found in many arthropod species’ visual systems.

 
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NSF-PAR ID:
10142870
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Volume:
117
Issue:
16
ISSN:
0027-8424
Page Range / eLocation ID:
p. 8948-8957
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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