Evolution of visual opsin gene expression through gene duplication manifested in fish and primates

以鱼类和灵长类动物为研究模型，从基因表达差异和吸收光谱差异两个方面研究了视蛋白基因通过基因复制的功能分化。我们通过视蛋白类特异性启动子可视化感光细胞的一个子集，为理解视网膜发育做出了贡献。我们发现孔雀鱼LWS视蛋白基因在野生种群中发生了遗传分化。我们发现，灵长类动物的L和M视蛋白基因经历了同质化，它们之间的基因转换内含子和杂交，而L和M视蛋白之间的光谱差异似乎已保持纯化选择。

Functional differentiation of visual opsin genes through gene duplication was investigated for fish and primates as a study model, in terms of differentiation in gene expression and absorption spectra. We contributed to understanding of retinal development by visualizing a subset of photoreceptor cells through opsin-class-specific promoters. We found that guppy LWS opsin genes have undergone genetic differentiation among wild populations. We showed that L and M opsin genes of primates have experienced homogenization between them by gene conversion in introns and hybridization, while spectral difference between L and M opsins appear to have been maintained by purifying selection.