The evolution of colour vision in vertebrates

脊椎动物色觉的进化。色觉在包括脊椎动物在内的许多动物的生活中起着至关重要的作用。然而，人们对色觉的起源知之甚少，我们的目标是填补这一空白。对不同颜色敏感的光感受器(视锥细胞)调节颜色视觉(人类拥有蓝色、绿色和红色视锥细胞)。这项研究将研究早期脊椎动物近亲的这些细胞的结构、生理反应和分子生物学。还将研究光谱调谐的潜在机制、进化的遗传变化速度以及颜色在视觉生态中的重要性。

The evolution of colour vision in vertebrates. Colour vision plays a crucial role in the lives of many animals including vertebrates. However, very little is known about the origins of colour vision and we aim to fill this gap. Photoreceptors (cone cells) with sensitivities to different colours mediate colour vision (humans possess blue, green and red cones). This study will examine the structure, physiological responses and molecular biology of these cells in the closest living relatives of the early vertebrates. The underlying mechanisms for spectral tuning, the genetic rate of evolutionary change and the importance of colour in visual ecology will also be examined.