title: Distribution of blue-sensitive photoreceptors in amphibian retinas.
abstract: Previously, we reported that an opsin (Rc-MS) belonging to the SWS2 group opsins is expressed in bullfrog green rods [Hisatomi, O. et al., FEBS Lett., 1999, 447, 44-48]. An anti-Rc-MS antiserum recognized the cones of the Japanese common newt, Cynops pyrrhogaster, which has no green rods. We isolated a cDNA encoding an SWS2 group opsin (Cp-SWS2) from this newt and found that Cp-SWS2 is expressed in a small population of the cones. Our results suggest that SWS2 opsins can be expressed in either green rods or cones of caudata. It seems reasonable to suppose that green rods arose before amphibia were divided into caudata and anura.
authors.affiliation: Department of System Information Science, Graduate School of Information Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Hisatomi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sakakibara
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tokunaga
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tsukahara
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000032:analysis; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010786:Photoreceptor Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D010802:Phylogeny; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D012160:Retina / Q000378:metabolism*; D017299:Rod Opsins / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012455:Salamandridae; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D017299:Rod Opsins