Opsins
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Recent papers in Opsins
Recent advances in optogenetics and gene therapy have led to promising new treatment strategies for blindness caused by retinal photoreceptor loss. Preclinical studies often rely on the retinal degeneration 1 (rd1 or Pde6b(rd1)) retinitis... more
The capacity for cone-mediated color vision varies among nocturnal primates. Some species are col- orblind, having lost the functionality of their short-wavelength-sensitive-1 (SWS1) opsin pigment gene. In other species, such as the... more
Evidence is reviewed from a wide range of studies relevant to the evolution of vertebrate photoreceptors and phototransduction, in order to permit the synthesis of a scenario for the major steps that occurred during the evolution of... more
Some primate populations include both trichromatic and dichromatic (red-green colour blind) individuals due to allelic variation at the X-linked opsin locus. This polymorphic trichromacy is well described in day-active New World monkeys.... more
The morphology and molecular mechanisms of animal photoreceptor cells and eyes reveal a complex pattern of duplications and co-option of genetic modules, leading to a number of different light-sensitive systems that share many components,... more
Background Vertebrate color vision is dependent on four major color opsin subtypes: RH2 (green opsin), SWS1 (ultraviolet opsin), SWS2 (blue opsin), and LWS (red opsin). Together with the dim-light receptor rhodopsin (RH1), these form the... more
Opsin proteins are essential molecules in mediating the ability of animals to detect and use light for diverse biological functions. Therefore, understanding the evolutionary history of opsins is key to understanding the evolution of... more
Background: Arthropods have received much attention as a model for studying opsin evolution in invertebrates. Yet, relatively few studies have investigated the diversity of opsin proteins that underlie spectral sensitivity of the visual... more
There is increasing evidence that melanopsin-expressing ganglion cells (ipRGCs) are altered in retinal pathologies. Using a streptozotocin-induced (STZ) model of diabetes, we investigated the impact of diabetic retinopathy on non-visual... more
Macular telangiectasia Type 2 (MacTel) causes glial and photoreceptor cell death in a small, oval patch in the central retina. Beyond this oval area, no disease manifestations have been described so far. Here, we describe a novel... more
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)... more
Single-gene and whole-genome duplications are important evolutionary mechanisms that contribute to biological diversification by launching new genetic raw material. For example, the evolution of animal vision is tightly linked to the... more
Cell assemblies manipulation by optogenetics is pivotal to advance neuroscience and neuroengineering. In in vivo applications, photostimulation often broadly addresses a population of cells simultaneously, leading to feed-forward and to... more
Recent research has identified polymorphic trichromacy in three diurnal strepsirrhines: Coquerel's sifaka (Propithecus coquereli), black and white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata), and red ruffed lemurs (V. rubra). Current... more
Dissecting the genetic basis of adaptive traits is key to our understanding of evolutionary processes. A major and essential step in the study of evolutionary genetics is drawing link between genotype and phenotype, which depends on the... more
In human patients and animal models of retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a gradual loss of rod photoreceptors and decline in scotopic vision are the primary manifestations of the disease. Secondary death of cones and gradual, regressive... more