Atlantic salmon exorhodopsin crispants show elevated levels of melatonin during daytime
Atlantic salmon is a species where life-transition stages are strongly regulated by changes in photoperiod. The pineal organ, found dorsally in the brain, is highly photoreceptive and produces the hormone melatonin in direct response to external light environment. To evaluate which photoreceptive protein (opsin) that regulates the synthesis of melatonin, a CRISPR-Cas9 study was performed targeting knockdown of the major pineal opsin, Exorhodopsin. Illumina MiSeq was performed to evaluate the efficiency of CRISPR-Cas9 exorhodopsin knockdown targeting the gene at both exon 1 and exon 2. The data represents exorhodopsin crispants sampled at multiple developmental stages throughout smoltification during daytime including parr (n = 3), parr winter signal (n = 6 daytime, n = 2 nighttime), MidSmolt (n = 1), PeakSmolt (n = 4) and PostSmolt (n = 2). The results showed that exorhopsin crispants showed elevated melatonin levels at daytime compared to wildtype individuals. However, no effect was observed on smoltification.
Atlantic salmon is a species where life-transition stages are strongly regulated by changes in photoperiod. The pineal organ, found dorsally in the brain, is highly photoreceptive and produces the hormone melatonin in direct response to external light environment. To evaluate which photoreceptive protein (opsin) that regulates the synthesis of melatonin, a CRISPR-Cas9 study was performed targeting knockdown of the major pineal opsin, Exorhodopsin. Illumina MiSeq was performed to evaluate the efficiency of CRISPR-Cas9 exorhodopsin knockdown targeting the gene at both exon 1 and exon 2. The data represents exorhodopsin crispants sampled at multiple developmental stages throughout smoltification during daytime including parr (n = 3), parr winter signal (n = 6 daytime, n = 2 nighttime), MidSmolt (n = 1), PeakSmolt (n = 4) and PostSmolt (n = 2). The results showed that exorhopsin crispants showed elevated melatonin levels at daytime compared to wildtype individuals. However, no effect was observed on smoltification.
UNIVERSITY OF BERGEN