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Musilova Z, Cortesi F, Matschiner M, Davies WIL, Patel JS, Stieb SM, de Busserolles F, Malmstrøm M, Tørresen OK, Brown CJ, Mountford JK, Hanel R, Stenkamp DL, Jakobsen KS, Carleton KL, Jentoft S, Marshall J, Salzburger W. Vision using multiple distinct rod opsins in deep-sea fishes. Science 2019; 364:588-592. [PMID: 31073066 PMCID: PMC6628886 DOI: 10.1126/science.aav4632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2018] [Accepted: 04/16/2019] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Vertebrate vision is accomplished through light-sensitive photopigments consisting of an opsin protein bound to a chromophore. In dim light, vertebrates generally rely on a single rod opsin [rhodopsin 1 (RH1)] for obtaining visual information. By inspecting 101 fish genomes, we found that three deep-sea teleost lineages have independently expanded their RH1 gene repertoires. Among these, the silver spinyfin (Diretmus argenteus) stands out as having the highest number of visual opsins in vertebrates (two cone opsins and 38 rod opsins). Spinyfins express up to 14 RH1s (including the most blueshifted rod photopigments known), which cover the range of the residual daylight as well as the bioluminescence spectrum present in the deep sea. Our findings present molecular and functional evidence for the recurrent evolution of multiple rod opsin-based vision in vertebrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zuzana Musilova
- Zoological Institute, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Fabio Cortesi
- Zoological Institute, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Michael Matschiner
- Zoological Institute, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Palaeontology and Museum, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Wayne I L Davies
- UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
- Lions Eye Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
- Oceans Graduate School, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Jagdish Suresh Patel
- Center for Modeling Complex Interactions, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA
| | - Sara M Stieb
- Zoological Institute, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Center for Ecology, Evolution and Biogeochemistry, Department of Fish Ecology and Evolution, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG), Kastanienbaum, Switzerland
| | - Fanny de Busserolles
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Red Sea Research Center (RSRC), Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division (BESE), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Martin Malmstrøm
- Zoological Institute, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ole K Tørresen
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Celeste J Brown
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA
| | - Jessica K Mountford
- UWA Oceans Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
- Lions Eye Institute, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Reinhold Hanel
- Thünen Institute of Fisheries Ecology, Bremerhaven, Germany
| | | | - Kjetill S Jakobsen
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Karen L Carleton
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Sissel Jentoft
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Justin Marshall
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Walter Salzburger
- Zoological Institute, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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Tan YP, Li S, Jiang XJ, Loh W, Foo YK, Loh CB, Xu Q, Yuen WH, Jones M, Fu J, Venkatesh B, Yu WP. Regulation of protocadherin gene expression by multiple neuron-restrictive silencer elements scattered in the gene cluster. Nucleic Acids Res 2010; 38:4985-97. [PMID: 20385576 PMCID: PMC2926608 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkq246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The clustered protocadherins are a subfamily of neuronal cell adhesion molecules that play an important role in development of the nervous systems in vertebrates. The clustered protocadherin genes exhibit complex expression patterns in the central nervous system. In this study, we have investigated the molecular mechanism underlying neuronal expression of protocadherin genes using the protocadherin gene cluster in fugu as a model. By in silico prediction, we identified multiple neuron-restrictive silencer elements (NRSEs) scattered in the fugu protocadherin cluster and demonstrated that these elements bind specifically to NRSF/REST in vitro and in vivo. By using a transgenic Xenopus approach, we show that these NRSEs regulate neuronal specificity of protocadherin promoters by suppressing their activity in non-neuronal tissues. We provide evidence that protocadherin genes that do not contain an NRSE in their 5' intergenic region are regulated by NRSEs in the regulatory region of their neighboring genes. We also show that protocadherin clusters in other vertebrates such as elephant shark, zebrafish, coelacanth, lizard, mouse and human, contain different sets of multiple NRSEs. Taken together, our data suggest that the neuronal specificity of protocadherin cluster genes in vertebrates is regulated by the NRSE-NRSF/REST system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuen-Peng Tan
- Gene Regulation Laboratory, National Neuroscience Institute, Singapore
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Nathanson JL, Jappelli R, Scheeff ED, Manning G, Obata K, Brenner S, Callaway EM. Short Promoters in Viral Vectors Drive Selective Expression in Mammalian Inhibitory Neurons, but do not Restrict Activity to Specific Inhibitory Cell-Types. Front Neural Circuits 2009; 3:19. [PMID: 19949461 PMCID: PMC2783723 DOI: 10.3389/neuro.04.019.2009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2009] [Accepted: 10/13/2009] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Short cell-type specific promoter sequences are important for targeted gene therapy and studies of brain circuitry. We report on the ability of short promoter sequences to drive fluorescent protein expression in specific types of mammalian cortical inhibitory neurons using adeno-associated virus (AAV) and lentivirus (LV) vectors. We tested many gene regulatory sequences derived from fugu (Takifugu rubripes), mouse, human, and synthetic composite regulatory elements. All fugu compact promoters expressed in mouse cortex, with only the somatostatin (SST) and the neuropeptide Y (NPY) promoters largely restricting expression to GABAergic neurons. However these promoters did not control expression in inhibitory cells in a subtype specific manner. We also tested mammalian promoter sequences derived from genes putatively coexpressed or coregulated within three major inhibitory interneuron classes (PV, SST, VIP). In contrast to the fugu promoters, many of the mammalian sequences failed to express, and only the promoter from gene A930038C07Rik conferred restricted expression, although as in the case of the fugu sequences, this too was not inhibitory neuron subtype specific. Lastly and more promisingly, a synthetic sequence consisting of a composite regulatory element assembled with PAX6 E1.1 binding sites, NRSE and a minimal CMV promoter showed markedly restricted expression to a small subset of mostly inhibitory neurons, but whose commonalities are unknown.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason L Nathanson
- Systems Neurobiology Laboratories, Salk Institute for Biological Studies La Jolla, CA, USA
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Kawamura S, Takeshita K, Tsujimura T, Kasagi S, Matsumoto Y. Evolutionarily conserved and divergent regulatory sequences in the fish rod opsin promoter. Comp Biochem Physiol B Biochem Mol Biol 2005; 141:391-9. [PMID: 15964232 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpc.2005.03.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2004] [Revised: 03/13/2005] [Accepted: 03/15/2005] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Fish have multiple types and subtypes of opsin genes that are expressed in a highly regulated manner in retinal photoreceptor cells. In the rod opsin proximal promoter region (RPPR) of zebrafish (Danio rerio), the BAT 1 regulatory region contains highly conserved OTX (GATTA) and OTX-like (TATTA) sequences that can be recognized by the mammalian cone-rod homeobox (CRX) protein. However, binding of zebrafish crx to the OTX sequence has remained elusive. In contrast to the BAT 1 region, the Ret 1 region, located approximately 20 bp upstream of the BAT 1 region in mammals, is not conserved in zebrafish. In the Ret 1 region, even the core OTX-like sequence (AATTA sequence in mammals) is destructed. We show in this study that a region between Ret 1 and BAT 1 (denoted IRB, Inter-Ret 1-BAT 1) is highly conserved among fish species. Using electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA), we show that zebrafish crx binds to the conserved OTX sequence and that the fish-specific IRB region specifically binds elements present in both retinal and brain nuclear extracts of zebrafish. These results imply that the regulatory mechanisms of opsin gene expression consist not only of evolutionarily conserved but also of divergent machinery among different animal taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shoji Kawamura
- Department of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8652, Japan.
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Venkatesh B, Yap WH. Comparative genomics using fugu: a tool for the identification of conserved vertebrate cis-regulatory elements. Bioessays 2005; 27:100-7. [PMID: 15612032 DOI: 10.1002/bies.20134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
With the imminent completion of the whole genome sequence of humans, increasing attention is being focused on the annotation of cis-regulatory elements in the human genome. Comparative genomics approaches based on evolutionary conservation have proved useful in the detection of conserved cis-regulatory elements. The pufferfish, Fugu rubripes, is an attractive vertebrate model for comparative genomics, by virtue of its compact genome and maximal phylogenetic distance from mammals. Fugu has lost a large proportion of nonessential DNA, and retained single orthologs for many duplicate genes that arose in the fish lineage. Non-coding sequences conserved between fugu and mammals have been shown to be functional cis-regulatory elements. Thus, fugu is a model fish genome of choice for discovering evolutionarily conserved regulatory elements in the human genome. Such evolutionarily conserved elements are likely to be shared by all vertebrates, and related to regulatory interactions fundamental to all vertebrates. The functions of these conserved vertebrate elements can be rapidly assayed in mammalian cell lines or in transgenic systems such as zebrafish/medaka and Xenopus, followed by validation of crucial elements in transgenic rodents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Byrappa Venkatesh
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, 61 Biopolis Drive, Singapore 138673.
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Ichsan AM, Kato I, Yoshida T, Takasawa K, Hayasaka S, Hiraga K. Rhodopsin promoter-EGFP fusion transgene expression in photoreceptor neurons of retina and pineal complex in mice. Neurosci Lett 2005; 379:138-43. [PMID: 15823431 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2004.12.072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2004] [Revised: 12/03/2004] [Accepted: 12/21/2004] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Light detection in vertebrate eyes is mediated through retinal photoreceptor rod and cone cells that transduce light signals into electrical responses. The differentiation and synaptogenesis of photoreceptor cells are especially important since these cells are the main targets of degeneration in retinitis pigmentosa. We produced transgenic mice that express enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) under the control of the mouse rhodopsin gene promoter. In Western blot analyses of transgenic retinal homogenates, expression of the endogenous rhodopsin gene was detected from post-natal day (P)8; however, EGFP expression in transgenic retinas was initially detected at P12, indicating delayed expression of the transgene. At P14, fluorescence microscopy showed a weak expression of EGFP in the transgenic retina. In the adult transgenic mice, the strongest EGFP expression was observed in the outer nuclear layer, and to a lesser extent in the outer plexiform layer as well as in the inner and outer segments. EGFP expression was also observed in the pineal stalk. The rhodopsin promoter-EGFP transgenic mice will be not only useful to assess rhodopsin gene promoter activity in vivo, but also for retinal transplant studies as a source of functional photoreceptor cells that are fluorescent green.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andi Muhammad Ichsan
- Department of Biochemistry, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, School of Medicine, Sugitani 2630, Toyama 930-0194, Japan
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Abstract
Vertebrate rhodopsin promoters exhibit striking sequence identities proximal to the initiation site, suggesting that conserved transcription factors regulate rhodopsin expression in these animals. We identify and characterize two transcriptional activators of the Xenopus rhodopsin gene: homologs of the mammalian Crx and Nrl transcription factors, XOtx5 and XL-Nrl (originally named XL-maf), respectively. XOtx5 stimulated transcription approximately 10-fold in human 293 cells co-transfected with a plasmid containing the rhodopsin promoter (-508 to +41) upstream of luciferase, similar to the approximately 6-fold stimulation with human Crx. XL-Nrl stimulated transcription approximately 27-fold in mammalian 293 cells co-transfected with the rhodopsin luciferase reporter, slightly more than the approximately 17-fold stimulation with Nrl. Together, the Xenopus transcription factors synergistically activated the rhodopsin promoter (approximately 140-fold), as well as in combination with mammalian homologs. Deletion of the Nrl-response element, TGCTGA, eliminated the synergistic activation by both mammalian and Xenopus transcription factors. Deletion of the conserved ATTA sequences (Ret-1 or BAT-1), binding sites for Crx, did not significantly decrease activation by Crx/XOtx5. However, there was increased activation by Nrl/XL-Nrl and an increased synergy when the Ret-1 site was disrupted. These results illustrate conservation of mechanisms of retinal gene expression among vertebrates. In transgenic tadpoles, XOtx5 and XL-Nrl directed premature and ectopic expression from the Xenopus rhodopsin promoter-GFP transgene. Furthermore, activation of the endogenous rhodopsin gene was also observed in some animals, showing that XOtx5 and XL-Nrl can activate the promoter in native chromatin environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Leigh Whitaker
- Departments of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Ophthalmology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York 13210, USA
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