Origin of the vertebrate visual cycle: II. Visual cycle proteins are localized in whole brain including photoreceptor cells of a primitive chordate.
The visual cycle system in a primitive chordate, ascidian Ciona intestinalis, was studied by whole-mount in situ hybridization and by whole-mount immunohistochemistry. Three visual cycle proteins, Ciona homologue of RGR (Ci-opsin3), CRALBP (Ci-CRALBP), and BCO/RPE65 (Ci-BCO/RPE65) were widely distributed in the brain vesicle and visceral ganglion. To identify the visual cycle system in a primitive chordate, we compared the localization of photoreceptor-specific proteins (visual pigment and arrestin) and visual cycle proteins (Ci-opsin3 and Ci-CRALBP). The ascidian visual cycle is composed of two cellular compartments, the photoreceptors and the brain vesicle, but some photoreceptor cells also contain visual cycle proteins.
Tsuda
Motoyuki
M
Department of Life Science, Graduate School of Science, Himeji Institute of Technology, 3-2-1 Kouto, Kamigori, Ako-gun, Hyogo 678-1297, Japan. mtsuda@sci.himeji-tech.ac.jp
Kusakabe
Takehiro
T
Iwamoto
Hideo
H
Horie
Takeo
T
Nakashima
Yuki
Y
Nakagawa
Masashi
M
Okunou
Kiyotaka
K
D000818:Animals; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D002816:Chordata, Nonvertebrate; D002938:Ciona intestinalis / Q000737:chemistry*; D005136:Eye Proteins; D007120:Immunochemistry / Q000379:methods; D017403:In Situ Hybridization / Q000379:methods; D017956:Photoreceptor Cells, Invertebrate / Q000737:chemistry*; D011506:Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D012168:Retinal Pigments / Q000235:genetics*; D017299:Rod Opsins / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000032:analysis*; D019745:cis-trans-Isomerases / Q000737:chemistry
C020932:11-cis-retinal-binding protein; D002352:Carrier Proteins; C437926:Ci-opsin1 protein, Ciona intestinalis; D005136:Eye Proteins; D011506:Proteins; D012168:Retinal Pigments; D017299:Rod Opsins; C077124:retinal isomerase; D019745:cis-trans-Isomerases