title: Rhodopsin coexpression in UV photoreceptors of Aedes aegypti and Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes.
abstract: Differential rhodopsin gene expression within specialized R7 photoreceptor cells divides the retinas of Aedes aegypti and Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes into distinct domains. The two species express the rhodopsin orthologs Aaop8 and Agop8, respectively, in a large subset of these R7 photoreceptors that function as ultraviolet receptors. We show here that a divergent subfamily of mosquito rhodopsins, Aaop10 and Agop10, is coexpressed in these R7 photoreceptors. The properties of the A. aegypti Aaop8 and Aaop10 rhodopsins were analyzed by creating transgenic Drosophila expressing these rhodopsins. Electroretinogram recordings, and spectral analysis of head extracts, obtained from the Aaop8 strain confirmed that Aaop8 is an ultraviolet-sensitive rhodopsin. Aaop10 was poorly expressed and capable of eliciting only small and slow light responses in Drosophila photoreceptors, and electroretinogram analysis suggested that it is a long-wavelength rhodopsin with a maximal sensitivity near 500 nm. Thus, coexpression of Aaop10 rhodopsin with Aaop8 rhodopsin has the potential to modify the spectral properties of mosquito ultraviolet receptors. Retention of Op10 rhodopsin family members in the genomes of Drosophila species suggests that this rhodopsin family may play a conserved role in insect vision.
authors: Department of Biological Sciences and the ECK Institute for Global Health, Galvin Life Science Building, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA.
authors: Xiaobang
authors: X
authors: Hu
authors: Matthew T
authors: MT
authors: Leming
authors: Michelle A
authors: MA
authors: Whaley
authors: Joseph E
authors: JE
authors: O'Tousa
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000852:Anopheles / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000235:genetics; D004596:Electroretinography; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017956:Photoreceptor Cells, Invertebrate / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012160:Retina / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D012243:Rhodopsin / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D013045:Species Specificity; D013053:Spectrophotometry
chemical_list: D019476:Insect Proteins; D012243:Rhodopsin
keywords: Mosquito vision; Photoreceptor; Rhodopsin coexpression; UV sensitivity; Visual pigment