Photoreceptor evolution in Lophotrochozoa
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1
Sars International Centre for Marine Molecular Biology, Norway
Many invertebrates have large and complex eyes capable of visual processing, but many others just have very simple eyespots. This raises the question how many times visual organs evolved independently from simple precursor photoreceptors and which elements of complex eyes can be considered to be homologous. To get insights into the evolution of photoreceptors and eyes in the large group of lophotrochozoans we undertake comparative investigations in Owenia fusiformis, a basal annelid and Leptochiton asellus, a basal mollusk, which both exhibit rather simple organized eyes. Based on deep RNA-seq data a series of developmental and effector genes is used as markers to analyze and compare composition of eyes and other visual organs on the level of well characterizable cell types. Even these organisms, which lack complex eyes, exhibit high numbers of different opsins from all of the known main opsin types. Some of these opsins are expressed in the proper eyes, but others were found in hitherto not characterized, unpigmented light sensitive organs pointing towards existence of a broad spectrum of photoreceptors in lophotrochozoans.
Keywords:
Opsins,
Photoreceptor Cells,
lophotrochozoa,
Evolution, Molecular,
simple eyes
Conference:
International Conference on Invertebrate Vision, Fjälkinge, Sweden, 1 Aug - 8 Aug, 2013.
Presentation Type:
Poster presentation preferred
Topic:
Development and evolution
Citation:
Voecking
O and
Hausen
H
(2019). Photoreceptor evolution in Lophotrochozoa.
Front. Physiol.
Conference Abstract:
International Conference on Invertebrate Vision.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fphys.2013.25.00102
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Received:
23 Apr 2013;
Published Online:
09 Dec 2019.
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Correspondence:
Mr. Oliver Voecking, Sars International Centre for Marine Molecular Biology, Bergen, Norway, oliver.voecking@gmx.de