Ci‐opsin1, a vertebrate‐type opsin gene, expressed in the larval ocellus of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis

FEBS Letters

Kusakabe, Rie²  Satou, Yutaka¹  Satoh, Nori¹  Kawakami, Isao²  Kusakabe, Takehiro²  Tsuda, Motoyuki² 

[1] Department of Zoology, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Sakyo‐ku, Kyoto 606‐8502, Japan;Department of Life Science, Faculty of Science, Himeji Institute of Technology, Harima Science Garden City, Akoh‐gun, Hyogo 678‐1297, Japan

关键词: Ascidian;    Eye;    Evolution;    Opsin;    Photoreceptor cell;    Pineal organ;   

DOI  :  10.1016/S0014-5793(01)02877-0

学科分类：生物化学/生物物理

来源: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

【 摘 要 】

A novel gene encoding visual pigment, Ci-opsin1, was identified in a primitive chordate, the ascidian, Ciona intestinalis. Molecular phylogenetic analysis and the exon–intron organization suggest that Ci-opsin1 is closely related to the retinal and pineal opsins of vertebrates. During embryogenesis, Ci-opsin1 transcripts were first detected in part of the brain of mid tailbud embryos; its expression was confined to photoreceptor cells of the ocellus (eye spot) in the larval brain as development proceeded. These results suggest a common descent of the ascidian ocellus and the vertebrate eyes. The ocellus of ascidian larvae may represent an ancestral state of the vertebrate eye.

【 授权许可】

Unknown