RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Molecular Basis for Ultraviolet Vision in Invertebrates
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 10873
OP 10878
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.23-34-10873.2003
VO 23
IS 34
A1 Ernesto Salcedo
A1 Lijun Zheng
A1 Meridee Phistry
A1 Eve E. Bagg
A1 Steven G. Britt
YR 2003
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/23/34/10873.abstract
AB Invertebrates are sensitive to a broad spectrum of light that ranges from UV to red. Color sensitivity in the UV plays an important role in foraging, navigation, and mate selection in both flying and terrestrial invertebrate animals. Here, we show that a single amino acid polymorphism is responsible for invertebrate UV vision. This residue (UV: lysine vs blue:asparagine or glutamate) corresponds to amino acid position glycine 90 (G90) in bovine rhodopsin, a site affected in autosomal dominant human congenital night blindness. Introduction of the positively charged lysine in invertebrates is likely to deprotonate the Schiff base chromophore and produce an UV visual pigment. This same position is responsible for regulating UV versus blue sensitivity in several bird species, suggesting that UV vision has arisen independently in invertebrate and vertebrate lineages by a similar molecular mechanism.