1
|
Mulhair PO, Crowley L, Boyes DH, Lewis OT, Holland PWH. Opsin Gene Duplication in Lepidoptera: Retrotransposition, Sex Linkage, and Gene Expression. Mol Biol Evol 2023; 40:msad241. [PMID: 37935057 PMCID: PMC10642689 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msad241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Revised: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Color vision in insects is determined by signaling cascades, central to which are opsin proteins, resulting in sensitivity to light at different wavelengths. In certain insect groups, lineage-specific evolution of opsin genes, in terms of copy number, shifts in expression patterns, and functional amino acid substitutions, has resulted in changes in color vision with subsequent behavioral and niche adaptations. Lepidoptera are a fascinating model to address whether evolutionary change in opsin content and sequence evolution are associated with changes in vision phenotype. Until recently, the lack of high-quality genome data representing broad sampling across the lepidopteran phylogeny has greatly limited our ability to accurately address this question. Here, we annotate opsin genes in 219 lepidopteran genomes representing 33 families, reconstruct their evolutionary history, and analyze shifts in selective pressures and expression between genes and species. We discover 44 duplication events in opsin genes across ∼300 million years of lepidopteran evolution. While many duplication events are species or family specific, we find retention of an ancient long-wavelength-sensitive (LW) opsin duplication derived by retrotransposition within the speciose superfamily Noctuoidea (in the families Nolidae, Erebidae, and Noctuidae). This conserved LW retrogene shows life stage-specific expression suggesting visual sensitivities or other sensory functions specific to the early larval stage. This study provides a comprehensive order-wide view of opsin evolution across Lepidoptera, showcasing high rates of opsin duplications and changes in expression patterns.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Peter O Mulhair
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK
| | - Liam Crowley
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK
| | | | - Owen T Lewis
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK
| | | |
Collapse
|
2
|
Liénard MA, Valencia-Montoya WA, Pierce NE. Molecular advances to study the function, evolution and spectral tuning of arthropod visual opsins. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210279. [PMID: 36058235 PMCID: PMC9450095 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual opsins of vertebrates and invertebrates diversified independently and converged to detect ultraviolet to long wavelengths (LW) of green or red light. In both groups, colour vision largely derives from opsin number, expression patterns and changes in amino acids interacting with the chromophore. Functional insights regarding invertebrate opsin evolution have lagged behind those for vertebrates because of the disparity in genomic resources and the lack of robust in vitro systems to characterize spectral sensitivities. Here, we review bioinformatic approaches to identify and model functional variation in opsins as well as recently developed assays to measure spectral phenotypes. In particular, we discuss how transgenic lines, cAMP-spectroscopy and sensitive heterologous expression platforms are starting to decouple genotype–phenotype relationships of LW opsins to complement the classical physiological-behavioural-phylogenetic toolbox of invertebrate visual sensory studies. We illustrate the use of one heterologous method by characterizing novel LW Gq opsins from 10 species, including diurnal and nocturnal Lepidoptera, a terrestrial dragonfly and an aquatic crustacean, expressing them in HEK293T cells, and showing that their maximum absorbance spectra (λmax) range from 518 to 611 nm. We discuss the advantages of molecular approaches for arthropods with complications such as restricted availability, lateral filters, specialized photochemistry and/or electrophysiological constraints. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Understanding colour vision: molecular, physiological, neuronal and behavioural studies in arthropods’.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marjorie A Liénard
- Department of Biology, Lund University, 22362 Lund, Sweden.,Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Wendy A Valencia-Montoya
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Naomi E Pierce
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Kondrashev SL. Photoreceptors, visual pigments and intraretinal variability in spectral sensitivity in two species of smelts (Pisces, Osmeridae). JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2022; 101:584-596. [PMID: 35655413 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.15128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2022] [Accepted: 05/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The main goal of this study was to clarify whether the spectral properties of retinal photoreceptors reflect the features of behaviour of closely related fish species cohabiting shallow marine and fresh waters. The spectral sensitivity of photoreceptors was compared between two smelt species, Hypomesus japonicus and Japanese smelt Hypomesus nipponensis. The spectral absorption of the visual pigments was measured using microspectrophotometry. In H. japonicus, a mostly marine species, all photoreceptors contained visual pigments based on retinal and were distributed differently in specific retinal areas. The absorbance maxima (λmax ) of rods and long-wave-sensitive members of double cones throughout the retina amounted to 507 and 573 nm, respectively, but the λmax value of the short-wave-sensitive members of double cones and single cones in the temporal hemiretina showed a significant blue shift compared to the nasal hemiretina: 485 vs. 516 nm and 375 vs. 412 nm, respectively, thus enhancing the short-wave sensitivity of the temporal hemiretina. In H. nipponensis, an euryhaline species, the estimated λmax value of both rods and cones significantly varied between the groups caught in different localities (sea, river or estuary) because of the presence of rhodopsin/porphyropsin mixtures. The long-wavelength shift in rod and cone photoreceptors was observed because of changes in the chromophore complement in closely related but ecologically different species dwelling in freshened bodies of water. Considering the data available in the literature, several putative common opsin genes have been suggested for species under study.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sergei L Kondrashev
- Zhirmunsky National Scientific Center of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russia
- Institute for Information Transmission Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Nagloo N, Mountford JK, Gundry BJ, Hart NS, Davies WIL, Collin SP, Hemmi JM. Enhanced short-wavelength sensitivity in the blue-tongued skink, Tiliqua rugosa. J Exp Biol 2022; 225:275680. [PMID: 35582824 PMCID: PMC9234500 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.244317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2022] [Accepted: 05/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Despite lizards using a wide range of color signals, the limited variation in photoreceptor spectral sensitivities across lizards suggests only weak selection for species-specific, spectral tuning of photoreceptors. Some species, however, have enhanced short wavelength sensitivity, which likely helps with the detection of signals rich in ultraviolet and short wavelengths. In this study, we examined the visual system of Tiliqua rugosa, which has a UV/blue tongue, to gain insight into this species' visual ecology. We used electroretinograms, opsin sequencing and immunohistochemical labelling to characterize whole eye spectral sensitivity and the elements that shape it. Our findings reveal that T. rugosa expresses all five opsins typically found in lizards (SWS1, SWS2, RH1, RH2 and LWS) but possesses greatly enhanced short wavelength sensitivity compared to other diurnal lizards. This enhanced short wavelength sensitivity is characterized by a broadening of the spectral sensitivity curve of the eye towards shorter wavelengths while the peak sensitivity of the eye at longer wavelengths (560 nm) remains similar to other diurnal lizards. While an increased abundance of SWS1 photoreceptors is thought to mediate elevated ultraviolet sensitivity in a couple of other lizard species, SWS1 photoreceptor abundance remains low in our species. Instead, our findings suggest that short-wavelength sensitivity is driven by multiple factors which include a potentially red-shifted SWS1 photoreceptor and the absence of short-wavelength absorbing oil droplets. Examining the coincidence of enhanced short-wavelength sensitivity with blue tongues among lizards of this genus will provide further insight into the co-evolution of conspecific signals and whole-eye spectral sensitivity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Nagloo
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 6009 WA, Australia.,Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, S-212263, Sweden.,The UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, 6009 WA, Australia
| | - Jessica K Mountford
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 6009 WA, Australia.,The UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, 6009 WA, Australia.,Oceans Graduate School, The University of Western Australia, 6009 WA, Australia.,Clinical Genetics and Epidemiology, and Centre for Ophthalmology and Visual Science incorporating the Lions Eye Institute, The University of Western Australia, 6009 WA, Australia
| | - Ben J Gundry
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 6009 WA, Australia
| | - Nathan S Hart
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 6009 WA, Australia.,School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, 2109 NSW, Australia
| | - Wayne I L Davies
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 6009 WA, Australia.,The UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, 6009 WA, Australia.,Oceans Graduate School, The University of Western Australia, 6009 WA, Australia.,Clinical Genetics and Epidemiology, and Centre for Ophthalmology and Visual Science incorporating the Lions Eye Institute, The University of Western Australia, 6009 WA, Australia.,Umeå Centre for Molecular Medicine (UCMM), Umeå University, Umeå, S-90187, Sweden.,School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University Bundoora, Victoria 3086, Australia
| | - Shaun P Collin
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 6009 WA, Australia.,The UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, 6009 WA, Australia.,Oceans Graduate School, The University of Western Australia, 6009 WA, Australia.,Clinical Genetics and Epidemiology, and Centre for Ophthalmology and Visual Science incorporating the Lions Eye Institute, The University of Western Australia, 6009 WA, Australia.,School of Agriculture, Biomedicine and Environment, La Trobe University Bundoora, Victoria 3086, Australia
| | - Jan M Hemmi
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, 6009 WA, Australia.,The UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, 6009 WA, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Smedley GD, McElroy KE, Feller KD, Serb JM. Additive and epistatic effects influence spectral tuning in molluscan retinochrome opsin. J Exp Biol 2022; 225:275511. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.242929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The relationship between genotype and phenotype is nontrivial due to often complex molecular pathways that make it difficult to unambiguously relate phenotypes to specific genotypes. Photopigments, an opsin apoprotein bound to a light-absorbing chromophore, present an opportunity to directly relate the amino acid sequence to an absorbance peak phenotype (λmax). We examined this relationship by conducting a series of site-directed mutagenesis experiments of retinochrome, a non-visual opsin, from two closely related species: the common bay scallop, Argopecten irradians, and the king scallop, Pecten maximus. Using protein folding models, we identified three amino acid sites of likely functional importance and expressed mutated retinochrome proteins in vitro. Our results show that the mutation of amino acids lining the opsin binding pocket are responsible for fine spectral tuning, or small changes in the λmax of these light sensitive proteins Mutations resulted in a blue or red shift as predicted, but with dissimilar magnitudes. Shifts ranged from a 16 nm blue shift to a 12 nm red shift from the wild-type λmax. These mutations do not show an additive effect, but rather suggests the presence of epistatic interactions. This work highlights the importance of binding pocket shape in the evolution of spectral tuning and builds on our ability to relate genotypic changes to phenotypes in an emerging model for opsin functional analysis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- G. Dalton Smedley
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA
| | - Kyle E. McElroy
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA
| | - Kathryn D. Feller
- Department of Biological Sciences, Union College, Schenectady, New York, USA
| | - Jeanne M. Serb
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Schott RK, Perez L, Kwiatkowski MA, Imhoff V, Gumm JM. Evolutionary analyses of visual opsin genes in frogs and toads: Diversity, duplication, and positive selection. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8595. [PMID: 35154658 PMCID: PMC8820127 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2021] [Revised: 01/07/2022] [Accepted: 01/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Among major vertebrate groups, anurans (frogs and toads) are understudied with regard to their visual systems, and little is known about variation among species that differ in ecology. We sampled North American anurans representing diverse evolutionary and life histories that likely possess visual systems adapted to meet different ecological needs. Using standard molecular techniques, visual opsin genes, which encode the protein component of visual pigments, were obtained from anuran retinas. Additionally, we extracted the visual opsins from publicly available genome and transcriptome assemblies, further increasing the phylogenetic and ecological diversity of our dataset to 33 species in total. We found that anurans consistently express four visual opsin genes (RH1, LWS, SWS1, and SWS2, but not RH2) even though reported photoreceptor complements vary widely among species. The proteins encoded by these genes showed considerable sequence variation among species, including at sites known to shift the spectral sensitivity of visual pigments in other vertebrates and had conserved substitutions that may be related to dim-light adaptation. Using molecular evolutionary analyses of selection (dN/dS) we found significant evidence for positive selection at a subset of sites in the dim-light rod opsin gene RH1 and the long wavelength sensitive cone opsin LWS. The function of sites inferred to be under positive selection are largely unknown, but a few are likely to affect spectral sensitivity and other visual pigment functions based on proximity to previously identified sites in other vertebrates. We also found the first evidence of visual opsin duplication in an amphibian with the duplication of the LWS gene in the African bullfrog, which had distinct LWS copies on the sex chromosomes suggesting the possibility of sex-specific visual adaptation. Taken together, our results indicate that ecological factors, such as habitat and life history, as well as behavior, may be driving changes to anuran visual systems.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ryan K. Schott
- Department of BiologyYork UniversityTorontoOntarioCanada
- Department of Vertebrate ZoologyNational Museum of Natural HistorySmithsonian InstitutionWashingtonDistrict of ColumbiaUSA
| | - Leah Perez
- Department of BiologyStephen F. Austin State UniversityNacogdochesTexasUSA
| | | | - Vance Imhoff
- Southern Nevada Fish and Wildlife OfficeUS Fish and Wildlife ServiceLas VegasNevadaUSA
| | - Jennifer M. Gumm
- Department of BiologyStephen F. Austin State UniversityNacogdochesTexasUSA
- Ash Meadows Fish Conservation FacilityUS Fish and Wildlife ServiceAmargosa ValleyNevadaUSA
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Hauzman E, Pierotti MER, Bhattacharyya N, Tashiro JH, Yovanovich CAM, Campos PF, Ventura DF, Chang BSW. Simultaneous expression of UV and violet SWS1 opsins expands the visual palette in a group of freshwater snakes. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 38:5225-5240. [PMID: 34562092 PMCID: PMC8662652 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msab285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Snakes are known to express a rod visual opsin and two cone opsins, only (SWS1, LWS), a reduced palette resulting from their supposedly fossorial origins. Dipsadid snakes in the genus Helicops are highly visual predators that successfully invaded freshwater habitats from ancestral terrestrial-only habitats. Here, we report the first case of multiple SWS1 visual pigments in a vertebrate, simultaneously expressed in different photoreceptors and conferring both UV and violet sensitivity to Helicops snakes. Molecular analysis and in vitro expression confirmed the presence of two functional SWS1 opsins, likely the result of recent gene duplication. Evolutionary analyses indicate that each sws1 variant has undergone different evolutionary paths with strong purifying selection acting on the UV-sensitive copy and dN/dS ∼1 on the violet-sensitive copy. Site-directed mutagenesis points to the functional role of a single amino acid substitution, Phe86Val, in the large spectral shift between UV and violet opsins. In addition, higher densities of photoreceptors and SWS1 cones in the ventral retina suggest improved acuity in the upper visual field possibly correlated with visually guided behaviors. The expanded visual opsin repertoire and specialized retinal architecture are likely to improve photon uptake in underwater and terrestrial environments, and provide the neural substrate for a gain in chromatic discrimination, potentially conferring unique color vision in the UV–violet range. Our findings highlight the innovative solutions undertaken by a highly specialized lineage to tackle the challenges imposed by the invasion of novel photic environments and the extraordinary diversity of evolutionary trajectories taken by visual opsin-based perception in vertebrates.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Einat Hauzman
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Psychology Institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.,Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Michele E R Pierotti
- Department of Zoology, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Nihar Bhattacharyya
- Department of Cell & Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Juliana H Tashiro
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Psychology Institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Carola A M Yovanovich
- Department of Zoology, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Pollyanna F Campos
- Laboratório de Toxinologia Aplicada, Center of Toxins, Immune-Response and Cell Signaling (CeTICS), Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Dora F Ventura
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Psychology Institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.,Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Belinda S W Chang
- Department of Cell & Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Zheng S, Shao F, Tao W, Liu Z, Long J, Wang X, Zhang S, Zhao Q, Carleton KL, Kocher TD, Jin L, Wang Z, Peng Z, Wang D, Zhang Y. Chromosome-level assembly of southern catfish (silurus meridionalis) provides insights into visual adaptation to nocturnal and benthic lifestyles. Mol Ecol Resour 2021; 21:1575-1592. [PMID: 33503304 DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.13338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2020] [Revised: 01/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
The Southern catfish (Silurus meridionalis) is a nocturnal and benthic freshwater fish endemic to the Yangtze River and its tributaries. In this study, we constructed a chromosome-level draft genome of S. meridionalis using 69.7-Gb Nanopore long reads and 49.5-Gb Illumina short reads. The genome assembly was 741.2 Mb in size with a contig N50 of 13.19 Mb. An additional 116.4 Gb of Bionano and 77.4 Gb of Hi-C data were applied to assemble contigs into scaffolds and further into 29 chromosomes, resulting in a 738.9-Mb genome with a scaffold N50 of 28.04 Mb. A total of 22,965 protein-coding genes were predicted from the genome with 22,519 (98.06%) genes functionally annotated. Comparative genomic and transcriptomic analyses revealed a rod-dominated visual system which was responsible for scotopic vision. The absence of cone opsins SWS1 and SWS2 resulted in the lack of ultraviolet and blue violet sensitivity. Mutations at key amino acid sites of RH1.1, RH1.2 and RH2 resulted in spectral tuning good for dim light vision and narrow colour vision. A higher expression level of rod phototransduction genes than that of cone genes and higher rod-to-cone ratio led to higher optical sensitivity under dim light conditions. In addition, analysis of the genes involved in eye morphogenesis and development revealed the loss of some conserved noncoding elements, which might be associated with the small eyes in catfish. Together, our study provides important clues for the adaptation of the catfish visual system to the nocturnal and benthic lifestyles. The draft genome of S. meridionalis represents a valuable resource for studies of the molecular mechanisms of ecological adaptation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shuqing Zheng
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development (Ministry of Education), School of Life Sciences, Key Laboratory of Aquatic Science of Chongqing, Southwest University, Chongqing, P. R. China
| | - Feng Shao
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development (Ministry of Education), School of Life Sciences, Key Laboratory of Aquatic Science of Chongqing, Southwest University, Chongqing, P. R. China
| | - Wenjing Tao
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development (Ministry of Education), School of Life Sciences, Key Laboratory of Aquatic Science of Chongqing, Southwest University, Chongqing, P. R. China
| | - Zhilong Liu
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development (Ministry of Education), School of Life Sciences, Key Laboratory of Aquatic Science of Chongqing, Southwest University, Chongqing, P. R. China
| | - Juan Long
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development (Ministry of Education), School of Life Sciences, Key Laboratory of Aquatic Science of Chongqing, Southwest University, Chongqing, P. R. China
| | - Xiaoshuang Wang
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development (Ministry of Education), School of Life Sciences, Key Laboratory of Aquatic Science of Chongqing, Southwest University, Chongqing, P. R. China
| | - Shuai Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development (Ministry of Education), School of Life Sciences, Key Laboratory of Aquatic Science of Chongqing, Southwest University, Chongqing, P. R. China
| | - Qingyuan Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development (Ministry of Education), School of Life Sciences, Key Laboratory of Aquatic Science of Chongqing, Southwest University, Chongqing, P. R. China
| | - Karen L Carleton
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Thomas D Kocher
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Li Jin
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development (Ministry of Education), School of Life Sciences, Key Laboratory of Aquatic Science of Chongqing, Southwest University, Chongqing, P. R. China
| | - Zhijian Wang
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development (Ministry of Education), School of Life Sciences, Key Laboratory of Aquatic Science of Chongqing, Southwest University, Chongqing, P. R. China
| | - Zuogang Peng
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development (Ministry of Education), School of Life Sciences, Key Laboratory of Aquatic Science of Chongqing, Southwest University, Chongqing, P. R. China
| | - Deshou Wang
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development (Ministry of Education), School of Life Sciences, Key Laboratory of Aquatic Science of Chongqing, Southwest University, Chongqing, P. R. China
| | - Yaoguang Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development (Ministry of Education), School of Life Sciences, Key Laboratory of Aquatic Science of Chongqing, Southwest University, Chongqing, P. R. China
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Liénard MA, Bernard GD, Allen A, Lassance JM, Song S, Childers RR, Yu N, Ye D, Stephenson A, Valencia-Montoya WA, Salzman S, Whitaker MRL, Calonje M, Zhang F, Pierce NE. The evolution of red color vision is linked to coordinated rhodopsin tuning in lycaenid butterflies. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2008986118. [PMID: 33547236 PMCID: PMC8017955 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2008986118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
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 Gq protein-coupled opsins function in a novel or convergent way compared to vertebrate Gt opsins. Here we develop a robust heterologous expression system to purify invertebrate rhodopsins, identify specific amino acid changes responsible for adaptive spectral tuning, and pinpoint how molecular variation in invertebrate opsins underlie wavelength sensitivity shifts that enhance visual perception. By combining functional and optophysiological approaches, we disentangle the relative contributions of lateral filtering pigments from red-shifted LW and blue short-wavelength opsins expressed in distinct photoreceptor cells of individual ommatidia. We use in situ hybridization to visualize six ommatidial classes in the compound eye of a lycaenid butterfly with a four-opsin visual system. We show experimentally that certain key tuning residues underlying green spectral shifts in blue opsin paralogs have evolved repeatedly among short-wavelength opsin lineages. Taken together, our results demonstrate the interplay between regulatory and adaptive evolution at multiple Gq opsin loci, as well as how coordinated spectral shifts in LW and blue opsins can act together to enhance insect spectral sensitivity at blue and red wavelengths for visual performance adaptation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marjorie A Liénard
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02142;
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - Gary D Bernard
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
| | - Andrew Allen
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02142
| | - Jean-Marc Lassance
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - Siliang Song
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - Richard Rabideau Childers
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - Nanfang Yu
- Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027
| | - Dajia Ye
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - Adriana Stephenson
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - Wendy A Valencia-Montoya
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - Shayla Salzman
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - Melissa R L Whitaker
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | | | - Feng Zhang
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02142
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cambridge, MA 02139
| | - Naomi E Pierce
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138;
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Seiko T, Kishida T, Toyama M, Hariyama T, Okitsu T, Wada A, Toda M, Satta Y, Terai Y. Visual adaptation of opsin genes to the aquatic environment in sea snakes. BMC Evol Biol 2020; 20:158. [PMID: 33243140 PMCID: PMC7690139 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-020-01725-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2020] [Accepted: 11/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Evolutionary transitions from terrestrial to aquatic life history cause drastic changes in sensory systems. Indeed, the drastic changes in vision have been reported in many aquatic amniotes, convergently. Recently, the opsin genes of the full-aquatic sea snakes have been reported. However, those of the amphibious sea snakes have not been examined in detail. RESULTS Here, we investigated opsin genes and visual pigments of sea snakes. We determined the sequences of SWS1, LWS, and RH1 genes from one terrestrial, three amphibious and four fully-aquatic elapids. Amino acid replacements at four and one spectra-tuning positions were found in LWS and RH1, respectively. We measured or predicted absorption of LWS and RH1 pigments with A1-derived retinal. During their evolution, blue shifts of LWS pigments have occurred stepwise in amphibious sea snakes and convergently in both amphibious and fully-aquatic species. CONCLUSIONS Blue shifted LWS pigments may have adapted to deep water or open water environments dominated by blue light. The evolution of opsins differs between marine mammals (cetaceans and pinnipeds) and sea snakes in two fundamental ways: (1) pseudogenization of opsins in marine mammals; and (2) large blue shifts of LWS pigments in sea snakes. It may be possible to explain these two differences at the level of photoreceptor cell composition given that cone and rod cells both exist in mammals whereas only cone cells exist in fully-aquatic sea snakes. We hypothesize that the differences in photoreceptor cell compositions may have differentially affected the evolution of opsins in divergent amniote lineages.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Takashi Seiko
- Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Shonan Village, Hayama, Kanagawa 240-0193 Japan
| | - Takushi Kishida
- Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, 2-24 Tanaka Sekiden-cho, Sakyo, Kyoto 606-8203 Japan
| | - Mina Toyama
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Handayama, Hamamatsu Japan
| | - Takahiko Hariyama
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Handayama, Hamamatsu Japan
| | - Takashi Okitsu
- Laboratory of Organic Chemistry for Life Science, Kobe Pharmaceutical University, 4-19-1, Motoyamakita, Higashinada, Kobe, 658-8558 Japan
| | - Akimori Wada
- Laboratory of Organic Chemistry for Life Science, Kobe Pharmaceutical University, 4-19-1, Motoyamakita, Higashinada, Kobe, 658-8558 Japan
| | - Mamoru Toda
- Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-0213 Japan
| | - Yoko Satta
- Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Shonan Village, Hayama, Kanagawa 240-0193 Japan
| | - Yohey Terai
- Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Shonan Village, Hayama, Kanagawa 240-0193 Japan
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Simões BF, Gower DJ, Rasmussen AR, Sarker MAR, Fry GC, Casewell NR, Harrison RA, Hart NS, Partridge JC, Hunt DM, Chang BS, Pisani D, Sanders KL. Spectral Diversification and Trans-Species Allelic Polymorphism during the Land-to-Sea Transition in Snakes. Curr Biol 2020; 30:2608-2615.e4. [PMID: 32470360 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.04.061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2020] [Revised: 03/05/2020] [Accepted: 04/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Snakes are descended from highly visual lizards [1] but have limited (probably dichromatic) color vision attributed to a dim-light lifestyle of early snakes [2-4]. The living species of front-fanged elapids, however, are ecologically very diverse, with ∼300 terrestrial species (cobras, taipans, etc.) and ∼60 fully marine sea snakes, plus eight independently marine, amphibious sea kraits [1]. Here, we investigate the evolution of spectral sensitivity in elapids by analyzing their opsin genes (which are responsible for sensitivity to UV and visible light), retinal photoreceptors, and ocular lenses. We found that sea snakes underwent rapid adaptive diversification of their visual pigments when compared with their terrestrial and amphibious relatives. The three opsins present in snakes (SWS1, LWS, and RH1) have evolved under positive selection in elapids, and in sea snakes they have undergone multiple shifts in spectral sensitivity toward the longer wavelengths that dominate below the sea surface. Several relatively distantly related Hydrophis sea snakes are polymorphic for shortwave sensitive visual pigment encoded by alleles of SWS1. This spectral site polymorphism is expected to confer expanded "UV-blue" spectral sensitivity and is estimated to have persisted twice as long as the predicted survival time for selectively neutral nuclear alleles. We suggest that this polymorphism is adaptively maintained across Hydrophis species via balancing selection, similarly to the LWS polymorphism that confers allelic trichromacy in some primates. Diving sea snakes thus appear to share parallel mechanisms of color vision diversification with fruit-eating primates.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bruno F Simões
- University of Plymouth, School of Biological and Marine Sciences, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, United Kingdom; University of Bristol, School of Biological Sciences and School of Earth Sciences, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TG, United Kingdom; The University of Adelaide, School of Biological Sciences, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia.
| | - David J Gower
- Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, United Kingdom
| | - Arne R Rasmussen
- The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture, Design and Conservation, Philip de Langes Allé, 1435 Copenhagen K, Denmark
| | - Mohammad A R Sarker
- University of Dhaka, Department of Zoology, Curzon Hall Campus, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
| | - Gary C Fry
- CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Queensland Biosciences Precinct, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Nicholas R Casewell
- Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Centre for Snakebite Research & Interventions, Pembroke Place, Liverpool L3 5QA, United Kingdom
| | - Robert A Harrison
- Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Centre for Snakebite Research & Interventions, Pembroke Place, Liverpool L3 5QA, United Kingdom
| | - Nathan S Hart
- Macquarie University, Department of Biological Sciences, North Ryde, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - Julian C Partridge
- The University of Western Australia, Oceans Institute, Crawley, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - David M Hunt
- The University of Western Australia, School of Biological Sciences, Crawley, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia; The Lions Eye Institute, Centre for Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Nedlands, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia
| | - Belinda S Chang
- University of Toronto, Departments of Ecology & Evolutionary, Cell & Systems Biology, Willcocks Street, Toronto M5S 3G5, Canada
| | - Davide Pisani
- University of Bristol, School of Biological Sciences and School of Earth Sciences, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TG, United Kingdom
| | - Kate L Sanders
- The University of Adelaide, School of Biological Sciences, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia; Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Gower DJ, Sampaio FL, Peichl L, Wagner HJ, Loew ER, Mclamb W, Douglas RH, Orlov N, Grace MS, Hart NS, Hunt DM, Partridge JC, Simões BF. Evolution of the eyes of vipers with and without infrared-sensing pit organs. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blz003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- David J Gower
- Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - Filipa L Sampaio
- Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - Leo Peichl
- Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Germany
- Dr. Senckenbergische Anatomie, Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany
| | | | - Ellis R Loew
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cornell University, USA
| | - William Mclamb
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Institute of Technology, and Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, Melbourne, FL, USA
| | - Ronald H Douglas
- Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London, UK
- Department of Optometry and Visual Science, City, University of London, London, UK
| | - Nikolai Orlov
- Department of Herpetology, Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
| | - Michael S Grace
- College of Science, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL, USA
| | - Nathan S Hart
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Australia
| | - David M Hunt
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Australia
- Centre for Ophthalmology and Vision Science, Lions Eye Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia
| | - Julian C Partridge
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Australia
- Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Bruno F Simões
- Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London, UK
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Simões BF, Foley NM, Hughes GM, Zhao H, Zhang S, Rossiter SJ, Teeling EC. As Blind as a Bat? Opsin Phylogenetics Illuminates the Evolution of Color Vision in Bats. Mol Biol Evol 2019; 36:54-68. [PMID: 30476197 PMCID: PMC6340466 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msy192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Through their unique use of sophisticated laryngeal echolocation bats are considered sensory specialists amongst mammals and represent an excellent model in which to explore sensory perception. Although several studies have shown that the evolution of vision is linked to ecological niche adaptation in other mammalian lineages, this has not yet been fully explored in bats. Recent molecular analysis of the opsin genes, which encode the photosensitive pigments underpinning color vision, have implicated high-duty cycle (HDC) echolocation and the adoption of cave roosting habits in the degeneration of color vision in bats. However, insufficient sampling of relevant taxa has hindered definitive testing of these hypotheses. To address this, novel sequence data was generated for the SWS1 and MWS/LWS opsin genes and combined with existing data to comprehensively sample species representing diverse echolocation types and niches (SWS1 n = 115; MWS/LWS n = 45). A combination of phylogenetic analysis, ancestral state reconstruction, and selective pressure analyses were used to reconstruct the evolution of these visual pigments in bats and revealed that although both genes are evolving under purifying selection in bats, MWS/LWS is highly conserved but SWS1 is highly variable. Spectral tuning analyses revealed that MWS/LWS opsin is tuned to a long wavelength, 555-560 nm in the bat ancestor and the majority of extant taxa. The presence of UV vision in bats is supported by our spectral tuning analysis, but phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that the SWS1 opsin gene has undergone pseudogenization in several lineages. We do not find support for a link between the evolution of HDC echolocation and the pseudogenization of the SWS1 gene in bats, instead we show the SWS1 opsin is functional in the HDC echolocator, Pteronotus parnellii. Pseudogenization of the SWS1 is correlated with cave roosting habits in the majority of pteropodid species. Together these results demonstrate that the loss of UV vision in bats is more widespread than was previously considered and further elucidate the role of ecological niche specialization in the evolution of vision in bats.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bruno F Simões
- UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland
- School of Earth Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
- School of Biological Science, The University of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Nicole M Foley
- UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Graham M Hughes
- UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Huabin Zhao
- Department of Ecology and Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Shuyi Zhang
- College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang, China
| | - Stephen J Rossiter
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Emma C Teeling
- UCD School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Nandamuri SP, Conte MA, Carleton KL. Multiple trans QTL and one cis-regulatory deletion are associated with the differential expression of cone opsins in African cichlids. BMC Genomics 2018; 19:945. [PMID: 30563463 PMCID: PMC6299527 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-018-5328-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2018] [Accepted: 11/28/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Dissecting the genetic basis of phenotypic diversity is one of the fundamental goals in evolutionary biology. Despite growing evidence for gene expression divergence being responsible for the evolution of complex traits, knowledge about the proximate genetic causes underlying these traits is still limited. African cichlids have diverse visual systems, with different species expressing different combinations of seven cone opsin genes. Using opsin expression variation in African cichlids as a model for gene expression evolution, this study aims to investigate the genetic architecture of opsin expression divergence in this group. Results Results from a genome-wide linkage mapping on the F2 progeny of an intergeneric cross, between two species with differential opsin expression show that opsins in Lake Malawi cichlids are controlled by multiple quantitative trait loci (QTLs). Most of these QTLs are located in trans to the opsins except for one cis-QTL for SWS1 on LG17. A closer look at this major QTL revealed the presence of a 691 bp deletion in the promoter of the SWS1 opsin (located 751 bp upstream of the start site) that is associated with a decrease in its expression. Phylogenetic footprinting indicates that the region spanning the deletion harbors a microRNA miR-729 and a conserved non-coding element (CNE) that also occurs in zebrafish and other teleosts. This suggests that the deletion might contain ancestrally preserved regulators that have been tuned for SWS1 gene expression in Lake Malawi. While this deletion is not common, it does occur in several other species within the lake. Conclusions Differential expression of cichlid opsins is associated with multiple overlapping QTL, with all but one in trans to the opsins they regulate. The one cis-acting factor is a deletion in the promoter of the SWS1 opsin, suggesting that ancestral polymorphic deletions may contribute to cichlid’s visual diversity. In addition to expanding our understanding of the molecular landscape of opsin expression in African cichlids, this study sheds light on the molecular mechanisms underlying phenotypic variation in natural populations. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12864-018-5328-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sri Pratima Nandamuri
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, 1210 Biology / Psychology Bldg #144, College Park, MD, 20742, USA
| | - Matthew A Conte
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, 1210 Biology / Psychology Bldg #144, College Park, MD, 20742, USA
| | - Karen L Carleton
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, 1210 Biology / Psychology Bldg #144, College Park, MD, 20742, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Retention and losses of ultraviolet-sensitive visual pigments in bats. Sci Rep 2018; 8:11933. [PMID: 30093712 PMCID: PMC6085362 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-29646-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2018] [Accepted: 07/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Ultraviolet (UV)-sensitive visual pigment and its corresponding ability for UV vision was retained in early mammals from their common ancestry with sauropsids. Subsequently, UV-sensitive pigments, encoded by the short wavelength-sensitive 1 (SWS1) opsin gene, were converted to violet sensitivity or have lost function in multiple lineages during the diversification of mammals. However, many mammalian species, including most bats, are suggested to retain a UV-sensitive pigment. Notably, some cave-dwelling fruit bats and high duty cycle echolocating bats have lost their SWS1 genes, which are proposed to be due to their roosting ecology and as a sensory trade-off between vision and echolocation, respectively. Here, we sequenced SWS1 genes from ecologically diverse bats and found that this gene is also non-functional in both common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) and white-winged vampire bat (Diaemus youngi). Apart from species with pesudogenes, our evolutionary and functional studies demonstrate that the SWS1 pigment of bats are UV-sensitive and well-conserved since their common ancestor, suggesting an important role across major ecological types. Given the constrained function of SWS1 pigments in these bats, why some other species, such as vampire bats, have lost this gene is even more interesting and needs further investigation.
Collapse
|
16
|
Visual pigment genes and absorbance spectra in the Japanese sardine Sardinops melanostictus (Teleostei: Clupeiformes). Comp Biochem Physiol B Biochem Mol Biol 2018; 218:54-63. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpb.2018.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2017] [Revised: 02/17/2018] [Accepted: 02/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
|
17
|
Borges R, Johnson WE, O'Brien SJ, Gomes C, Heesy CP, Antunes A. Adaptive genomic evolution of opsins reveals that early mammals flourished in nocturnal environments. BMC Genomics 2018; 19:121. [PMID: 29402215 PMCID: PMC5800076 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-017-4417-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2016] [Accepted: 12/22/2017] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Based on evolutionary patterns of the vertebrate eye, Walls (1942) hypothesized that early placental mammals evolved primarily in nocturnal habitats. However, not only Eutheria, but all mammals show photic characteristics (i.e. dichromatic vision, rod-dominated retina) suggestive of a scotopic eye design. RESULTS Here, we used integrative comparative genomic and phylogenetic methodologies employing the photoreceptive opsin gene family in 154 mammals to test the likelihood of a nocturnal period in the emergence of all mammals. We showed that mammals possess genomic patterns concordant with a nocturnal ancestry. The loss of the RH2, VA, PARA, PARIE and OPN4x opsins in all mammals led us to advance a probable and most-parsimonious hypothesis of a global nocturnal bottleneck that explains the loss of these genes in the emerging lineage (> > 215.5 million years ago). In addition, ancestral character reconstruction analyses provided strong evidence that ancestral mammals possessed a nocturnal lifestyle, ultra-violet-sensitive vision, low visual acuity and low orbit convergence (i.e. panoramic vision). CONCLUSIONS Overall, this study provides insight into the evolutionary history of the mammalian eye while discussing important ecological aspects of the photic paleo-environments ancestral mammals have occupied.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rui Borges
- CIIMAR/CIMAR, Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto, Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Av. General Norton de Matos, s/n, 4450-208, Porto, Portugal
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, 4169-007, Porto, Portugal
| | - Warren E Johnson
- Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, 1500 Remount Road, Front Royal, VA, 22630, USA
| | - Stephen J O'Brien
- Theodosius Dobzhansky Center for Genome Bioinformatics, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia, 199004
- Guy Harvey Oceanographic Center, Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography, Nova Southeastern University, 8000, North Ocean Drive, Ft Lauderdale, 33004, Florida, USA
| | - Cidália Gomes
- CIIMAR/CIMAR, Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto, Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Av. General Norton de Matos, s/n, 4450-208, Porto, Portugal
- ICBAS, Institute of the Biomedical Sciences of Abel Salazar, University of Porto, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, 228, 4050-313, Porto, Portugal
| | - Christopher P Heesy
- Department of Anatomy, Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, Midwestern University, 19555 N. 59th avenue, Glendale, AZ, USA
| | - Agostinho Antunes
- CIIMAR/CIMAR, Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research, University of Porto, Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Av. General Norton de Matos, s/n, 4450-208, Porto, Portugal.
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, 4169-007, Porto, Portugal.
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Dungan SZ, Chang BSW. Epistatic interactions influence terrestrial-marine functional shifts in cetacean rhodopsin. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2016.2743. [PMID: 28250185 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.2743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2016] [Accepted: 02/03/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Like many aquatic vertebrates, whales have blue-shifting spectral tuning substitutions in the dim-light visual pigment, rhodopsin, that are thought to increase photosensitivity in underwater environments. We have discovered that known spectral tuning substitutions also have surprising epistatic effects on another function of rhodopsin, the kinetic rates associated with light-activated intermediates. By using absorbance spectroscopy and fluorescence-based retinal release assays on heterologously expressed rhodopsin, we assessed both spectral and kinetic differences between cetaceans (killer whale) and terrestrial outgroups (hippo, bovine). Mutation experiments revealed that killer whale rhodopsin is unusually resilient to pleiotropic effects on retinal release from key blue-shifting substitutions (D83N and A292S), largely due to a surprisingly specific epistatic interaction between D83N and the background residue, S299. Ancestral sequence reconstruction indicated that S299 is an ancestral residue that predates the evolution of blue-shifting substitutions at the origins of Cetacea. Based on these results, we hypothesize that intramolecular epistasis helped to conserve rhodopsin's kinetic properties while enabling blue-shifting spectral tuning substitutions as cetaceans adapted to aquatic environments. Trade-offs between different aspects of molecular function are rarely considered in protein evolution, but in cetacean and other vertebrate rhodopsins, may underlie multiple evolutionary scenarios for the selection of specific amino acid substitutions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Z Dungan
- Department Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 3B2
| | - Belinda S W Chang
- Department Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 3B2 .,Centre for the Analysis of Genome Evolution and Function, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 3B2.,Department Cell and Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 3G5
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Toomey MB, Corbo JC. Evolution, Development and Function of Vertebrate Cone Oil Droplets. Front Neural Circuits 2017; 11:97. [PMID: 29276475 PMCID: PMC5727011 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2017.00097] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2017] [Accepted: 11/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
To distinguish colors, the nervous system must compare the activity of distinct subtypes of photoreceptors that are maximally sensitive to different portions of the light spectrum. In vertebrates, a variety of adaptations have arisen to refine the spectral sensitivity of cone photoreceptors and improve color vision. In this review article, we focus on one such adaptation, the oil droplet, a unique optical organelle found within the inner segment of cone photoreceptors of a diverse array of vertebrate species, from fish to mammals. These droplets, which consist of neutral lipids and carotenoid pigments, are interposed in the path of light through the photoreceptor and modify the intensity and spectrum of light reaching the photosensitive outer segment. In the course of evolution, the optical function of oil droplets has been fine-tuned through changes in carotenoid content. Species active in dim light reduce or eliminate carotenoids to enhance sensitivity, whereas species active in bright light precisely modulate carotenoid double bond conjugation and concentration among cone subtypes to optimize color discrimination and color constancy. Cone oil droplets have sparked the curiosity of vision scientists for more than a century. Accordingly, we begin by briefly reviewing the history of research on oil droplets. We then discuss what is known about the developmental origins of oil droplets. Next, we describe recent advances in understanding the function of oil droplets based on biochemical and optical analyses. Finally, we survey the occurrence and properties of oil droplets across the diversity of vertebrate species and discuss what these patterns indicate about the evolutionary history and function of this intriguing organelle.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew B Toomey
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Joseph C Corbo
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Lebhardt F, Desplan C. Retinal perception and ecological significance of color vision in insects. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2017; 24:75-83. [PMID: 29208227 PMCID: PMC5726413 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2017.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2017] [Accepted: 09/12/2017] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Color vision relies on the ability to discriminate different wavelengths and is often improved in insects that inhabit well-lit, spectrally rich environments. Although the Opsin proteins themselves are sensitive to specific wavelength ranges, other factors can alter and further restrict the sensitivity of photoreceptors to allow for finer color discrimination and thereby more informed decisions while interacting with the environment. The ability to discriminate colors differs between insects that exhibit different life styles, between female and male eyes of the same species, and between regions of the same eye, depending on the requirements of intraspecific communication and ecological demands.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fleur Lebhardt
- Department of Biology, New York University, NY 10003, USA
| | - Claude Desplan
- Department of Biology, New York University, NY 10003, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Insights into visual pigment adaptation and diversity from model ecological and evolutionary systems. Curr Opin Genet Dev 2017; 47:110-120. [PMID: 29102895 DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2017.09.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2017] [Revised: 09/18/2017] [Accepted: 09/29/2017] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Sensory systems provide valuable insight into the evolution of molecular mechanisms underlying organismal anatomy, physiology, and behaviour. Visual pigments, which mediate the first step in visual transduction, offer a unique window into the relationship between molecular variation and visual performance, and enhance our understanding of how ecology, life history, and physiology may shape genetic variation across a variety of organisms. Here we review recent work investigating vertebrate visual pigments from a number of perspectives. Opsin gene duplication, loss, differential expression, structural variation, and the physiological context in which they operate, have profoundly shaped the visual capabilities of vertebrates adapting to novel environments. We note the importance of conceptual frameworks in investigating visual pigment diversity in vertebrates, highlighting key examples including evolutionary transitions between different photic environments, major shifts in life history evolution and ecology, evolutionary innovations in visual system anatomy and physiology, as well as shifts in visually mediated behaviours and behavioural ecology. We emphasize the utility of studying visual pigment evolution in the context of these different perspectives, and demonstrate how the integrative approaches discussed in this review contribute to a better understanding of the underlying molecular processes mediating adaptation in sensory systems, and the contexts in which they occur.
Collapse
|
22
|
The Evolution and Genetics of Carotenoid Processing in Animals. Trends Genet 2017; 33:171-182. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tig.2017.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2016] [Revised: 12/29/2016] [Accepted: 01/09/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
|
23
|
Miyazaki T, Kondrashev SL, Kasagi S, Mizusawa K, Takahashi A. Sequence and localization of an ultraviolet (sws1) opsin in the retina of the Japanese sardine Sardinops melanostictus (Teleostei: Clupeiformes). JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2017; 90:954-967. [PMID: 27861878 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.13210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2016] [Accepted: 10/13/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
A full-length complementary (c)DNA encoding ultraviolet (UV)-sensitive opsin (sws1) was isolated from the retina of the Japanese sardine Sardinops melanostictus. The sws1 phylogenetic tree showed a sister group relationship with the Cypriniformes, following the ray-finned fish phylogeny. By expressing reconstituted opsin in vitro, it was determined that the maximum absorbance spectrum (λmax ) of sws1 is around 382 nm, being intermediate in position between two subtypes of sws1 pigment that are UV sensitive (λmax = 355-380 nm) and violet sensitive (λmax = 388-455 nm), which have been reported to date. The ocular media transmitted >20% transmittance of light in the range of 360-600 nm. In situ hybridization analyses revealed that sws1 messenger (m)RNA is localized in a central single cone surrounded by four double cones in a square mosaic. The square mosaic occupies the ventro-temporal quadrant of the retina and the in situ hybridization signals were dominant in this area suggesting that the fish may use UV vision when looking upward. Based on these results, considerable significances of potential UV sensitivity, in relation to characteristic habits of S. melanostictus, are discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- T Miyazaki
- Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Bioresources, Mie University, Kurimamachiya 1577, Tsu, Mie, 514-8507, Japan
| | - S L Kondrashev
- A. V. Zhirmunsky Institute of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, 690041, Russia
| | - S Kasagi
- School of Marine Biosciences, Kitasato University, Kitasato 1-15-1, Minami-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-0373, Japan
| | - K Mizusawa
- School of Marine Biosciences, Kitasato University, Kitasato 1-15-1, Minami-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-0373, Japan
| | - A Takahashi
- School of Marine Biosciences, Kitasato University, Kitasato 1-15-1, Minami-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252-0373, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Stieb SM, Cortesi F, Sueess L, Carleton KL, Salzburger W, Marshall NJ. Why UV vision and red vision are important for damselfish (Pomacentridae): structural and expression variation in opsin genes. Mol Ecol 2017; 26:1323-1342. [PMID: 27997050 DOI: 10.1111/mec.13968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2016] [Revised: 11/29/2016] [Accepted: 12/05/2016] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Coral reefs belong to the most diverse ecosystems on our planet. The diversity in coloration and lifestyles of coral reef fishes makes them a particularly promising system to study the role of visual communication and adaptation. Here, we investigated the evolution of visual pigment genes (opsins) in damselfish (Pomacentridae) and examined whether structural and expression variation of opsins can be linked to ecology. Using DNA sequence data of a phylogenetically representative set of 31 damselfish species, we show that all but one visual opsin are evolving under positive selection. In addition, selection on opsin tuning sites, including cases of divergent, parallel, convergent and reversed evolution, has been strong throughout the radiation of damselfish, emphasizing the importance of visual tuning for this group. The highest functional variation in opsin protein sequences was observed in the short- followed by the long-wavelength end of the visual spectrum. Comparative gene expression analyses of a subset of the same species revealed that with SWS1, RH2B and RH2A always being expressed, damselfish use an overall short-wavelength shifted expression profile. Interestingly, not only did all species express SWS1 - a UV-sensitive opsin - and possess UV-transmitting lenses, most species also feature UV-reflective body parts. This suggests that damsels might benefit from a close-range UV-based 'private' communication channel, which is likely to be hidden from 'UV-blind' predators. Finally, we found that LWS expression is highly correlated to feeding strategy in damsels with herbivorous feeders having an increased LWS expression, possibly enhancing the detection of benthic algae.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sara M Stieb
- Sensory Neurobiology Group, Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia.,Zoological Institute, University of Basel, Basel, 4051, Switzerland
| | - Fabio Cortesi
- Sensory Neurobiology Group, Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia.,Zoological Institute, University of Basel, Basel, 4051, Switzerland
| | - Lorenz Sueess
- Sensory Neurobiology Group, Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Karen L Carleton
- Department of Biology, The University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA
| | | | - N J Marshall
- Sensory Neurobiology Group, Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Bhattacharyya N, Darren B, Schott RK, Tropepe V, Chang BSW. Cone-like rhodopsin expressed in the all cone retina of the colubrid pine snake as a potential adaptation to diurnality. J Exp Biol 2017; 220:2418-2425. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.156430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2017] [Accepted: 04/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Colubridae is the largest and most diverse family of snakes, with visual systems that reflect this diversity, encompassing a variety of retinal photoreceptor organizations. The transmutation theory proposed by Walls postulates that photoreceptors could evolutionarily transition between cell types in squamates, but few studies have tested this theory. Recently, evidence for transmutation and rod-like machinery in an all cone retina has been identified in a diurnal garter snake (Thamnophis), and it appears that the rhodopsin gene at least may be widespread among colubrid snakes. However, functional evidence supporting transmutation beyond the existence of the rhodopsin gene remains rare. We examined the all cone retina of another colubrid, Pituophis melanoleucus, thought to be more secretive/burrowing than Thamnophis. We found that P. melanoleucus expresses two cone opsins (SWS1, LWS) and rhodopsin (RH1) within the eye. Immunohistochemistry localized rhodopsin to the outer segment of photoreceptors in the all-cone retina of the snake and all opsin genes produced functional visual pigments when expressed in vitro. Consistent with other studies, we found that P. melanoleucus rhodopsin is extremely blue-shifted. Surprisingly, P. melanoleucus rhodopsin reacted with hydroxylamine, a typical cone opsin characteristic. These results support the idea that the rhodopsin-containing photoreceptors of P. melanoleucus are the products of evolutionary transmutation from rod ancestors, and suggests that this phenomenon may be widespread in colubrid snakes. We hypothesize that transmutation may be an adaptation for diurnal, brighter-light vision, which could result in increased spectral sensitivity and chromatic discrimination with the potential for colour vision.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nihar Bhattacharyya
- Department of Cell & Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Benedict Darren
- Department of Cell & Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ryan K. Schott
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Vincent Tropepe
- Department of Cell & Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Ophthalmology & Vision Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto ON, M5T 3A9, Canada
- Centre for the Analysis of Genome Evolution and Function, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Belinda S. W. Chang
- Department of Cell & Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Centre for the Analysis of Genome Evolution and Function, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Abstract
Photoreceptors are found in all kingdoms of life and mediate crucial responses to environmental challenges. Nature has evolved various types of photoresponsive protein structures with different chromophores and signaling concepts for their given purpose. The abundance of these signaling proteins as found nowadays by (meta-)genomic screens enriched the palette of optogenetic tools significantly. In addition, molecular insights into signal transduction mechanisms and design principles from biophysical studies and from structural and mechanistic comparison of homologous proteins opened seemingly unlimited possibilities for customizing the naturally occurring proteins for a given optogenetic task. Here, a brief overview on the photoreceptor concepts already established as optogenetic tools in natural or engineered form, their photochemistry and their signaling/design principles is given. Finally, so far not regarded photosensitive modules and protein architectures with potential for optogenetic application are described.
Collapse
|
27
|
Porath-Krause AJ, Pairett AN, Faggionato D, Birla BS, Sankar K, Serb JM. Structural differences and differential expression among rhabdomeric opsins reveal functional change after gene duplication in the bay scallop, Argopecten irradians (Pectinidae). BMC Evol Biol 2016; 16:250. [PMID: 27855630 PMCID: PMC5114761 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-016-0823-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2016] [Accepted: 11/01/2016] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Opsins are the only class of proteins used for light perception in image-forming eyes. Gene duplication and subsequent functional divergence of opsins have played an important role in expanding photoreceptive capabilities of organisms by altering what wavelengths of light are absorbed by photoreceptors (spectral tuning). However, new opsin copies may also acquire novel function or subdivide ancestral functions through changes to temporal, spatial or the level of gene expression. Here, we test how opsin gene copies diversify in function and evolutionary fate by characterizing four rhabdomeric (Gq-protein coupled) opsins in the scallop, Argopecten irradians, identified from tissue-specific transcriptomes. Results Under a phylogenetic analysis, we recovered a pattern consistent with two rounds of duplication that generated the genetic diversity of scallop Gq-opsins. We found strong support for differential expression of paralogous Gq-opsins across ocular and extra-ocular photosensitive tissues, suggesting that scallop Gq-opsins are used in different biological contexts due to molecular alternations outside and within the protein-coding regions. Finally, we used available protein models to predict which amino acid residues interact with the light-absorbing chromophore. Variation in these residues suggests that the four Gq-opsin paralogs absorb different wavelengths of light. Conclusions Our results uncover novel genetic and functional diversity in the light-sensing structures of the scallop, demonstrating the complicated nature of Gq-opsin diversification after gene duplication. Our results highlight a change in the nearly ubiquitous shadow response in molluscs to a narrowed functional specificity for visual processes in the eyed scallop. Our findings provide a starting point to study how gene duplication may coincide with eye evolution, and more specifically, different ways neofunctionalization of Gq-opsins may occur. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-016-0823-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anita J Porath-Krause
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, 50011, IA, USA
| | - Autum N Pairett
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, 50011, IA, USA
| | - Davide Faggionato
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, 50011, IA, USA
| | - Bhagyashree S Birla
- Department of Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, 50011, IA, USA.,Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, 50011, IA, USA
| | - Kannan Sankar
- Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, 50011, IA, USA.,Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, 50011, IA, USA
| | - Jeanne M Serb
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, 50011, IA, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Bloch NI. The evolution of opsins and color vision: connecting genotype to a complex phenotype. ACTA BIOLÓGICA COLOMBIANA 2016. [DOI: 10.15446/abc.v21n3.53907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Entender la base genética de los rasgos adaptativos es un paso crítico en el estudio de los procesos evolutivos. Para estudiar la conexión entre genotipo y fenotipo es importante definir el fenotipo a diferentes niveles: desde las proteínas que se construyen con base en un gen, hasta las características finales presentes en un organismo. Las opsinas y los fotopigmentos son elementos primordiales de la visión y entender cómo han evolucionado es fundamental en el estudio de la visión en los animales como un caracter derivado de selección natural o sexual. Este artículo se enfoca en este sistema, en el que se pueden conectar genotipo y fenotipo, como ejemplo de fenotipo complejo para ilustrar las dificultades de establecer una relación clara entre genotipo y fenotipo. Adicionalmente, este artículo tiene como objetivo discutir el funcionamiento del sistema de fotorrecepción, con énfasis particular en las aves, con el fin de enumerar varios factores que deben ser tenidos en cuenta para predecir cambios en la visión a partir del estudio de los fotopigmentos. Dado que los modelos basados en la visión de aves son cada vez más usados en diversas áreas de la biología evolutiva tales como: selección de pareja, depredación y camuflaje; se hace relevante entender los fundamentos y limitaciones de estos modelos. Por esta razón, en este artículo discuto los detalles y aspectos prácticos del uso de los modelos de visión existentes para aves, con el fin de facilitar su uso en futuras investigaciones en diversas áreas de evolución.
Collapse
|
29
|
Simões BF, Sampaio FL, Douglas RH, Kodandaramaiah U, Casewell NR, Harrison RA, Hart NS, Partridge JC, Hunt DM, Gower DJ. Visual Pigments, Ocular Filters and the Evolution of Snake Vision. Mol Biol Evol 2016; 33:2483-95. [DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msw148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
|
30
|
Toomey MB, Collins AM, Frederiksen R, Cornwall MC, Timlin JA, Corbo JC. A complex carotenoid palette tunes avian colour vision. J R Soc Interface 2016; 12:20150563. [PMID: 26446559 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2015.0563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The brilliantly coloured cone oil droplets of the avian retina function as long-pass cut-off filters that tune the spectral sensitivity of the photoreceptors and are hypothesized to enhance colour discrimination and improve colour constancy. Although it has long been known that these droplets are pigmented with carotenoids, their precise composition has remained uncertain owing to the technical challenges of measuring these very small, dense and highly refractile optical organelles. In this study, we integrated results from high-performance liquid chromatography, hyperspectral microscopy and microspectrophotometry to obtain a comprehensive understanding of oil droplet carotenoid pigmentation in the chicken (Gallus gallus). We find that each of the four carotenoid-containing droplet types consists of a complex mixture of carotenoids, with a single predominant carotenoid determining the wavelength of the spectral filtering cut-off. Consistent with previous reports, we find that the predominant carotenoid type in the oil droplets of long-wavelength-sensitive, medium-wavelength-sensitive and short-wavelength-sensitive type 2 cones are astaxanthin, zeaxanthin and galloxanthin, respectively. In addition, the oil droplet of the principal member of the double cone contains a mixture of galloxanthin and two hydroxycarotenoids (lutein and zeaxanthin). Short-wavelength-absorbing apocarotenoids are present in all of the droplet types, providing filtering of light in a region of the spectrum where filtering by hydroxy- and ketocarotenoids may be incomplete. Thus, birds rely on a complex palette of carotenoid pigments within their cone oil droplets to achieve finely tuned spectral filtering.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew B Toomey
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Aaron M Collins
- Bioenergy and Defense Technologies, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87123, USA
| | - Rikard Frederiksen
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118-2526, USA
| | - M Carter Cornwall
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118-2526, USA
| | - Jerilyn A Timlin
- Bioenergy and Defense Technologies, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87123, USA
| | - Joseph C Corbo
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110, USA
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Toomey MB, Lind O, Frederiksen R, Curley RW, Riedl KM, Wilby D, Schwartz SJ, Witt CC, Harrison EH, Roberts NW, Vorobyev M, McGraw KJ, Cornwall MC, Kelber A, Corbo JC. Complementary shifts in photoreceptor spectral tuning unlock the full adaptive potential of ultraviolet vision in birds. eLife 2016; 5:e15675. [PMID: 27402384 PMCID: PMC4947394 DOI: 10.7554/elife.15675] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2016] [Accepted: 06/13/2016] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Color vision in birds is mediated by four types of cone photoreceptors whose maximal sensitivities (λmax) are evenly spaced across the light spectrum. In the course of avian evolution, the λmax of the most shortwave-sensitive cone, SWS1, has switched between violet (λmax > 400 nm) and ultraviolet (λmax < 380 nm) multiple times. This shift of the SWS1 opsin is accompanied by a corresponding short-wavelength shift in the spectrally adjacent SWS2 cone. Here, we show that SWS2 cone spectral tuning is mediated by modulating the ratio of two apocarotenoids, galloxanthin and 11’,12’-dihydrogalloxanthin, which act as intracellular spectral filters in this cell type. We propose an enzymatic pathway that mediates the differential production of these apocarotenoids in the avian retina, and we use color vision modeling to demonstrate how correlated evolution of spectral tuning is necessary to achieve even sampling of the light spectrum and thereby maintain near-optimal color discrimination.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Matthew B Toomey
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, United States
| | - Olle Lind
- Department of Philosophy, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Rikard Frederiksen
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Boston University, Boston, United States
| | - Robert W Curley
- College of Pharmacy, The Ohio State University, Columbus, United States
| | - Ken M Riedl
- Department of Food Science and Technology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, United States
- Nutrient and Phytochemical Shared Resource of the OSU-Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, United States
| | - David Wilby
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Steven J Schwartz
- Department of Food Science and Technology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, United States
| | - Christopher C Witt
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, United States
- Museum of Southwestern Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, United States
| | - Earl H Harrison
- Department of Human Nutrition, The Ohio State University, Columbus, United States
| | - Nicholas W Roberts
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Misha Vorobyev
- Department of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Kevin J McGraw
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, United States
| | - M Carter Cornwall
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Boston University, Boston, United States
| | - Almut Kelber
- Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Joseph C Corbo
- Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, United States
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Melin AD, Wells K, Moritz GL, Kistler L, Orkin JD, Timm RM, Bernard H, Lakim MB, Perry GH, Kawamura S, Dominy NJ. Euarchontan Opsin Variation Brings New Focus to Primate Origins. Mol Biol Evol 2016; 33:1029-41. [PMID: 26739880 PMCID: PMC4776711 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msv346] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Debate on the adaptive origins of primates has long focused on the functional ecology of the primate visual system. For example, it is hypothesized that variable expression of short- (SWS1) and middle-to-long-wavelength sensitive (M/LWS) opsins, which confer color vision, can be used to infer ancestral activity patterns and therefore selective ecological pressures. A problem with this approach is that opsin gene variation is incompletely known in the grandorder Euarchonta, that is, the orders Scandentia (treeshrews), Dermoptera (colugos), and Primates. The ancestral state of primate color vision is therefore uncertain. Here, we report on the genes (OPN1SW and OPN1LW) that encode SWS1 and M/LWS opsins in seven species of treeshrew, including the sole nocturnal scandentian Ptilocercus lowii. In addition, we examined the opsin genes of the Central American woolly opossum (Caluromys derbianus), an enduring ecological analogue in the debate on primate origins. Our results indicate: 1) retention of ultraviolet (UV) visual sensitivity in C. derbianus and a shift from UV to blue spectral sensitivities at the base of Euarchonta; 2) ancient pseudogenization of OPN1SW in the ancestors of P. lowii, but a signature of purifying selection in those of C. derbianus; and, 3) the absence of OPN1LW polymorphism among diurnal treeshrews. These findings suggest functional variation in the color vision of nocturnal mammals and a distinctive visual ecology of early primates, perhaps one that demanded greater spatial resolution under light levels that could support cone-mediated color discrimination.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Amanda D Melin
- Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, and Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB
| | - Konstans Wells
- Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Gillian L Moritz
- Department of Biological Sciences, Class of 1978 Life Sciences Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University
| | - Logan Kistler
- Departments of Anthropology and Biology, Pennsylvania State University School of Life Sciences, Gibbet Hill Campus, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom
| | - Joseph D Orkin
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, and Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis
| | - Robert M Timm
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Kansas, Lawrence
| | - Henry Bernard
- Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - Maklarin B Lakim
- Sabah Parks, Lot 45 & 46 KK Times Square Coastal Highway, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
| | - George H Perry
- Departments of Anthropology and Biology, Pennsylvania State University
| | - Shoji Kawamura
- Department of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Japan
| | - Nathaniel J Dominy
- Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH Department of Biological Sciences, Class of 1978 Life Sciences Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Yokoyama S, Tada T, Liu Y, Faggionato D, Altun A. A simple method for studying the molecular mechanisms of ultraviolet and violet reception in vertebrates. BMC Evol Biol 2016; 16:64. [PMID: 27001075 PMCID: PMC4802639 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-016-0637-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2015] [Accepted: 03/16/2016] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Many vertebrate species use ultraviolet (UV) reception for such basic behaviors as foraging and mating, but many others switched to violet reception and improved their visual resolution. The respective phenotypes are regulated by the short wavelength-sensitive (SWS1) pigments that absorb light maximally (λmax) at ~360 and 395-440 nm. Because of strong epistatic interactions, the biological significance of the extensive mutagenesis results on the molecular basis of spectral tuning in SWS1 pigments and the mechanisms of their phenotypic adaptations remains uncertain. RESULTS The magnitudes of the λmax-shifts caused by mutations in a present-day SWS1 pigment and by the corresponding forward mutations in its ancestral pigment are often dramatically different. To resolve these mutagenesis results, the A/B ratio, in which A and B are the areas formed by amino acids at sites 90, 113 and 118 and by those at sites 86, 90 and 118 and 295, respectively, becomes indispensable. Then, all critical mutations that generated the λmax of a SWS1 pigment can be identified by establishing that 1) the difference between the λmax of the ancestral pigment with these mutations and that of the present-day pigment is small (3 ~ 5 nm, depending on the entire λmax-shift) and 2) the difference between the corresponding A/B ratios is < 0.002. CONCLUSION Molecular adaptation has been studied mostly by using comparative sequence analyses. These statistical results provide biological hypotheses and need to be tested using experimental means. This is an opportune time to explore the currently available and new genetic systems and test these statistical hypotheses. Evaluating the λmaxs and A/B ratios of mutagenized present-day and their ancestral pigments, we now have a method to identify all critical mutations that are responsible for phenotypic adaptation of SWS1 pigments. The result also explains spectral tuning of the same pigments, a central unanswered question in phototransduction.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shozo Yokoyama
- Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.
| | - Takashi Tada
- Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Yang Liu
- Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | | | - Ahmet Altun
- Department of Physics, Fatih University, Istanbul, 34500, Turkey.,Department of Genetics and Bioengineering, Fatih University, Istanbul, 34500, Turkey
| |
Collapse
|
34
|
Simões BF, Sampaio FL, Loew ER, Sanders KL, Fisher RN, Hart NS, Hunt DM, Partridge JC, Gower DJ. Multiple rod-cone and cone-rod photoreceptor transmutations in snakes: evidence from visual opsin gene expression. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 283:rspb.2015.2624. [PMID: 26817768 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.2624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2015] [Accepted: 01/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In 1934, Gordon Walls forwarded his radical theory of retinal photoreceptor 'transmutation'. This proposed that rods and cones used for scotopic and photopic vision, respectively, were not fixed but could evolve into each other via a series of morphologically distinguishable intermediates. Walls' prime evidence came from series of diurnal and nocturnal geckos and snakes that appeared to have pure-cone or pure-rod retinas (in forms that Walls believed evolved from ancestors with the reverse complement) or which possessed intermediate photoreceptor cells. Walls was limited in testing his theory because the precise identity of visual pigments present in photoreceptors was then unknown. Subsequent molecular research has hitherto neglected this topic but presents new opportunities. We identify three visual opsin genes, rh1, sws1 and lws, in retinal mRNA of an ecologically and taxonomically diverse sample of snakes central to Walls' theory. We conclude that photoreceptors with superficially rod- or cone-like morphology are not limited to containing scotopic or photopic opsins, respectively. Walls' theory is essentially correct, and more research is needed to identify the patterns, processes and functional implications of transmutation. Future research will help to clarify the fundamental properties and physiology of photoreceptors adapted to function in different light levels.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Bruno F Simões
- Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Filipa L Sampaio
- Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Ellis R Loew
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Kate L Sanders
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia
| | - Robert N Fisher
- US Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, San Diego, CA 92101, USA
| | - Nathan S Hart
- Department of Biological Science, Macquarie University, New South Wales 2109, Australia
| | - David M Hunt
- School of Animal Biology, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia Lions Eye Institute, University of Western Australia, Perth 6009, Australia
| | - Julian C Partridge
- School of Animal Biology, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia 6009, Australia School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1UG, UK
| | - David J Gower
- Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
| |
Collapse
|
35
|
Dungan SZ, Kosyakov A, Chang BS. Spectral Tuning of Killer Whale (Orcinus orca) Rhodopsin: Evidence for Positive Selection and Functional Adaptation in a Cetacean Visual Pigment. Mol Biol Evol 2015; 33:323-36. [DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msv217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
|
36
|
|
37
|
Renoult JP, Kelber A, Schaefer HM. Colour spaces in ecology and evolutionary biology. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2015; 92:292-315. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 112] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2015] [Revised: 09/14/2015] [Accepted: 09/17/2015] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Julien P. Renoult
- Institute of Arts Creations Theories & Aesthetics, CNRS-University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne; 47 r. des bergers 75015 Paris France
| | - Almut Kelber
- Lund Vision Group, Department of Biology; Lund University; Helgonavägen 3 22362 Lund Sweden
| | - H. Martin Schaefer
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Animal Ecology; Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg; Hauptstrasse 1 79104 Freiburg Germany
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Phillips GAC, Carleton KL, Marshall NJ. Multiple Genetic Mechanisms Contribute to Visual Sensitivity Variation in the Labridae. Mol Biol Evol 2015; 33:201-15. [PMID: 26464127 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msv213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Coral reefs are one of the most spectrally diverse environments, both in terms of habitat and animal color. Species identity, sex, and camouflage are drivers of the phenotypic diversity seen in coral reef fishes, but how the phenotypic diversity is reflected in the genotype remains to be answered. The labrids are a large, polyphyletic family of coral reef fishes that display a diverse range of colors, including developmental color morphs and extensive behavioral ecologies. Here, we assess the opsin sequence and expression diversity among labrids from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. We found that labrids express a diverse palette of visual opsins, with gene duplications in both RH2 and LWS genes. The majority of opsins expressed were within the mid-to-long wavelength sensitive classes (RH2 and LWS). Three of the labrid species expressed SWS1 (ultra-violet sensitive) opsins with the majority expressing the violet-sensitive SWS2B gene and none expressing SWS2A. We used knowledge about spectral tuning sites to calculate approximate spectral sensitivities (λmax) for individual species' visual pigments, which corresponded well with previously published λmax values for closely related species (SWS1: 356-370 nm; SWS2B: 421-451 nm; RH2B: 452-492 nm; RH2A: 516-528 nm; LWS1: 554-555 nm; LWS2: 561-562 nm). In contrast to the phenotypic diversity displayed via color patterns and feeding ecology, there was little amino acid diversity within the known opsin sequence tuning sites. However, gene duplications and differential expression provide alternative mechanisms for tuning visual pigments, resulting in variable visual sensitivities among labrid species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - N Justin Marshall
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Friedman NR, Remeš V. Rapid evolution of elaborate male coloration is driven by visual system in Australian fairy-wrens (Maluridae). J Evol Biol 2015; 28:2125-35. [PMID: 26299546 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2014] [Revised: 08/17/2015] [Accepted: 08/19/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The interplay between colour vision and animal signalling is of keen interest to behavioural ecologists and evolutionary biologists alike, but is difficult to address in terrestrial animals. Unlike most avian lineages, in which colour vision is relatively invariant among species, the fairy-wrens and allies (Maluridae) show a recent gain of ultraviolet sensitivity (UVS). Here, we compare the rates of colour evolution on 11 patches for males and females across Maluridae in the context of their visual system. We measured reflectance spectra for 24 species, estimating five vision-independent colour metrics as well as metrics of colour contrast among patches and sexual dichromatism in a receiver-neutral colour space. We fit Brownian motion (BM) and Ornstein-Uhlenbeck (OU) models to estimate evolutionary rates for these metrics and to test whether male coloration, female coloration or dichromatism was driven by selective regimes defined by visual system or geography. We found that in general male coloration evolved rapidly in comparison with females. Male colour contrast was strongly correlated with visual system and expanded greatly in UVS lineages, whereas female coloration was weakly associated with geography (Australia vs. Papua New Guinea). These results suggest that dichromatism has evolved in Maluridae as males and females evolve at different rates, and are driven by different selection pressures.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- N R Friedman
- Department of Zoology and Laboratory of Ornithology, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - V Remeš
- Department of Zoology and Laboratory of Ornithology, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Yokoyama S, Altun A, Jia H, Yang H, Koyama T, Faggionato D, Liu Y, Starmer WT. Adaptive evolutionary paths from UV reception to sensing violet light by epistatic interactions. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2015; 1:e1500162. [PMID: 26601250 PMCID: PMC4643761 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1500162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2015] [Accepted: 08/02/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Ultraviolet (UV) reception is useful for such basic behaviors as mate choice, foraging, predator avoidance, communication, and navigation, whereas violet reception improves visual resolution and subtle contrast detection. UV and violet reception are mediated by the short wavelength-sensitive (SWS1) pigments that absorb light maximally (λmax) at ~360 nm and ~395 to 440 nm, respectively. Because of strong nonadditive (epistatic) interactions among amino acid changes in the pigments, the adaptive evolutionary mechanisms of these phenotypes are not well understood. Evolution of the violet pigment of the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis, λmax = 423 nm) from the UV pigment in the amphibian ancestor (λmax = 359 nm) can be fully explained by eight mutations in transmembrane (TM) I-III segments. We show that epistatic interactions involving the remaining TM IV-VII segments provided evolutionary potential for the frog pigment to gradually achieve its violet-light reception by tuning its color sensitivity in small steps. Mutants in these segments also impair pigments that would cause drastic spectral shifts and thus eliminate them from viable evolutionary pathways. The overall effects of epistatic interactions involving TM IV-VII segments have disappeared at the last evolutionary step and thus are not detectable by studying present-day pigments. Therefore, characterizing the genotype-phenotype relationship during each evolutionary step is the key to uncover the true nature of epistasis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shozo Yokoyama
- Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Ahmet Altun
- Department of Physics and Department of Genetics and Bioengineering, Fatih University, Istanbul 34500, Turkey
| | - Huiyong Jia
- Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Hui Yang
- Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Takashi Koyama
- Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | | | - Yang Liu
- Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
41
|
Bloch NI. Evolution of opsin expression in birds driven by sexual selection and habitat. Proc Biol Sci 2015; 282:20142321. [PMID: 25429020 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2014.2321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Theories of sexual and natural selection predict coevolution of visual perception with conspecific colour and/or the light environment animals occupy. One way to test these theories is to focus on the visual system, which can be achieved by studying the opsin-based visual pigments that mediate vision. Birds vary greatly in colour, but opsin gene coding sequences and associated visual pigment spectral sensitivities are known to be rather invariant across birds. Here, I studied expression of the four cone opsin genes (Lws, Rh2, Sws2 and Sws1) in 16 species of New World warblers (Parulidae). I found levels of opsin expression vary both across species and between the sexes. Across species, female, but not male Sws2 expression is associated with an index of sexual selection, plumage dichromatism. This fits predictions of classic sexual selection models, in which the sensory system changes in females, presumably impacting female preference, and co-evolves with male plumage. Expression of the opsins at the extremes of the light spectrum, Lws and Uvs, correlates with the inferred light environment occupied by the different species. Unlike opsin spectral tuning, regulation of opsin gene expression allows for fast adaptive evolution of the visual system in response to natural and sexual selection, and in particular, sex-specific selection pressures.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Natasha I Bloch
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Bloch NI, Price TD, Chang BSW. Evolutionary dynamics of Rh2 opsins in birds demonstrate an episode of accelerated evolution in the New World warblers (Setophaga). Mol Ecol 2015; 24:2449-62. [PMID: 25827331 DOI: 10.1111/mec.13180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2015] [Revised: 03/14/2015] [Accepted: 03/23/2015] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Low rates of sequence evolution associated with purifying selection can be interrupted by episodic changes in selective regimes. Visual pigments are a unique system in which we can investigate the functional consequences of genetic changes, therefore connecting genotype to phenotype in the context of natural and sexual selection pressures. We study the RH2 and RH1 visual pigments (opsins) across 22 bird species belonging to two ecologically convergent clades, the New World warblers (Parulidae) and Old World warblers (Phylloscopidae) and evaluate rates of evolution in these clades along with data from 21 additional species. We demonstrate generally slow evolution of these opsins: both Rh1 and Rh2 are highly conserved across Old World and New World warblers. However, Rh2 underwent a burst of evolution within the New World genus Setophaga, where it accumulated substitutions at 6 amino acid sites across the species we studied. Evolutionary analyses revealed a significant increase in dN /dS in Setophaga, implying relatively strong selective pressures to overcome long-standing purifying selection. We studied the effects of each substitution on spectral tuning and found they do not cause large spectral shifts. Thus, substitutions may reflect other aspects of opsin function, such as those affecting photosensitivity and/or dark-light adaptation. Although it is unclear what these alterations mean for colour perception, we suggest that rapid evolution is linked to sexual selection, given the exceptional plumage colour diversification in Setophaga.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Natasha I Bloch
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, University of Chicago, 1101 E 57th Street, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
43
|
Yewers MS, McLean C, Moussalli A, Stuart-Fox D, Bennett AT, Knott B. Spectral sensitivity of cone photoreceptors and opsin expression in two colour-divergent lineages of the lizard Ctenophorus decresii. J Exp Biol 2015; 218:1556-63. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.119404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2015] [Accepted: 03/16/2015] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Intraspecific differences in sensory perception are rarely reported but may occur when a species range extends across varying sensory environments, or there is coevolution between the sensory system and a varying signal. Examples in colour vision and colour signals are rare in terrestrial systems. The tawny dragon lizard Ctenophorus decresii is a promising candidate for such intraspecific variation, because the species comprises two geographically and genetically distinct lineages in which throat colour (a social signal used in intra- and inter-specific interactions) is locally adapted to the habitat and differs between lineages. Male lizards from the southern lineage have UV-blue throats, whereas males from the northern lineage are polymorphic with four discrete throat colours that all show minimal UV reflectance. Here we determine the cone photoreceptor spectral sensitivities and opsin expression of the two lineages, to test whether they differ, particularly in the UV wavelengths. Using microspectrophotometry on retinal cone photoreceptors, we identified a long wavelength sensitive visual pigment, a ‘short’ and ‘long’ medium wavelength sensitive pigment and a short wavelength sensitive pigment, all of which did not differ in λmax between lineages. Through transcriptome analysis of opsin genes we found that both lineages express four cone opsin genes, including that SWS1 opsin with peak sensitivity in the UV range, and that amino acid sequences did not differ between lineages with the exception of a single leucine/valine substitution in the RH2 opsin. Counts of yellow and transparent oil droplets associated with LWS+MWS and SWS+UVS cones respectively showed no difference in relative cone proportions between lineages. Therefore, contrary to predictions, we find no evidence of differences between lineages in single cone photoreceptor spectral sensitivity or opsin expression; however, we confirm the presence of four single cones classes and thus likely tetrachromacy in C. decresii, and provide the first evidence of UV sensitivity in agamid lizards.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Claire McLean
- The School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, VIC 3010 Australia
- Sciences Department, Museum Victoria, Carlton Gardens 3053, Australia
| | - Adnan Moussalli
- Sciences Department, Museum Victoria, Carlton Gardens 3053, Australia
| | - Devi Stuart-Fox
- The School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, VIC 3010 Australia
| | - Andrew T.D. Bennett
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3217, Australia
| | - Ben Knott
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3217, Australia
| |
Collapse
|