title: Two isoforms of chicken melanopsins show blue light sensitivity.
abstract: Melanopsin is a vertebrate non-visual opsin and functions as a circadian photoreceptor in mammalian retinas. Here we found the expression of two kinds of melanopsin genes in the chicken pineal gland and identified the presence of five isoforms derived from these two genes. Reconstitution of the recombinant proteins with 11-cis-retinal revealed that at least two of these melanopsin protein isoforms can function as blue-sensitive photopigments with absorption maxima at 476-484nm. These values are consistent with maximal sensitivities of action spectra determined from the physiological and behavioral studies on mammalian melanopsins. The melanopsin isoforms found in this study may function as pineal circadian photoreceptors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biophysics and Biochemistry, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Torii
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kojima
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okano
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Akihisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Terakita
authors.forename: Yoshinori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shichida
authors.forename: Akimori
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wada
authors.forename: Yoshitaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fukada
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002645:Chickens / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015870:Gene Expression; D008297:Male; D018462:Photobiology; D020419:Photoreceptor Cells, Vertebrate / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects; D010802:Phylogeny; D010870:Pineal Gland / Q000378:metabolism; D020033:Protein Isoforms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects; D017299:Rod Opsins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects*; D013053:Spectrophotometry; D000099210:Melanopsin
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D020033:Protein Isoforms; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D017299:Rod Opsins; D000099210:Melanopsin