Building the retinal mosaic for color vision in flies

描述（由申请人提供）：色觉需要比较对入射光的波长有不同反应的感光细胞（pr）的输出。在果蝇中，初级视觉系统由浅色(p)和黄色(y)小眼组成，它们以随机的方式分布，保守比例为30% (p)到70% (y)。最近的证据表明，基因无棘（ss），是负责形成的小眼镶嵌通过定义y小眼。本提案中描述的研究旨在验证这样一种假设，即在pr的一个子集中，spineless的随机表达是导致用于色觉的复杂视网膜马赛克产生的主要事件。为了验证这一假设，我们将解决三个具体目标：1)无脊椎动物的功能分析，2)确定控制ss随机表达的因素，以及3)鉴定ss的新分子表型。这些实验将使用各种分子，遗传和基因组方法进行。这项工作的成功完成将提供关于y/p PR子类型规范中涉及的基本机制的大量信息。由于从果蝇到人类的眼睛发育和分化机制是保守的，最终，对果蝇视网膜镶嵌的更详细的了解将导致对脊椎动物视网膜的更好理解。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Color vision requires the comparison of the output of classes of photoreceptor cells (PRs) that respond differently to the wavelength of incoming light. In Drosophila, the primary visual system is composed of pale (p) and yellow (y) ommatidia, which are distributed in a stochastic manner with a conserved ratio of 30% (p) to 70% (y). Recent evidence has suggested that the gene spineless (ss), is responsible for the formation of the ommatidial mosaic by defining the y ommatidia. The studies described in this proposal are aimed at testing the hypothesis that the stochastic expression of spineless in a subset of PRs is the primary event that leads to the creation of the complex retinal mosaic used for color vision. To test this hypothesis, we will address three specific aims: 1) functional analysis of spineless, 2) determination of factors controlling the stochastic expression of ss, and 3) identification of new molecular phenotypes of ss. These experiments will be performed using a variety of molecular, genetic and genomic approaches. The successful completion of this work should provide a wealth of information about the basic mechanisms involved in y/p PR subtype specification. Since the mechanisms of eye development and differentiation are conserved from flies to humans, ultimately, a more detailed knowledge of the fly retinal mosaic will lead to a better understanding of the vertebrate retina.