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Euarchontan opsin variation brings new focus to primate origins
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Melin, Amanda D., Wells, Konstans, Moritz, Gillian L., Kistler, Logan, Orkin, Joseph D., Timm, Robert M., Bernard, Henry, Lakim, Maklarin B., Perry, George H., Kawamura, Shoji and Dominy, Nathaniel J. (2016) Euarchontan opsin variation brings new focus to primate origins. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 33 (4). pp. 1029-1041. doi:10.1093/molbev/msv346 ISSN 0737-4038.
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msv346
Abstract
Debate on the adaptive origins of primates has long focused on the functional ecology of the primate visual system. For example, it is hypothesized that variable expression of short- (SWS1) and middle-to-long-wavelength sensitive (M/LWS) opsins, which confer color vision, can be used to infer ancestral activity patterns and therefore selective ecological pressures. A problem with this approach is that opsin gene variation is incompletely known in the grandorder Euarchonta, i.e., the orders Scandentia (treeshrews), Dermoptera (colugos), and Primates. The ancestral state of primate color vision is therefore uncertain. Here we report on the genes (OPN1SW and OPN1LW) that encode SWS1 and M/LWS opsins in seven species of treeshrew, including the sole nocturnal scandentian Ptilocercus lowii. In addition, we examined the opsin genes of the Central American woolly opossum (Caluromys derbianus), an enduring ecological analogue in the debate on primate origins. Our results indicate: 1) retention of ultraviolet (UV) sensitivity in C. derbianus and a shift from UV to blue spectral sensitivities at the base of Euarchonta; 2) ancient pseudogenization of OPN1SW in the ancestors of P. lowii, but a signature of purifying selection in those of C. derbianus; and, 3) the absence of OPN1LW polymorphism among diurnal treeshrews. These findings suggest functional variation in color vision of nocturnal mammals and a distinctive visual ecology of early primates, perhaps one that demanded greater spatial resolution under light levels that could support cone-mediated color discrimination.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||||
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Subjects: | Q Science > QL Zoology | ||||||||||
Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Life Sciences (2010- ) | ||||||||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Color Vision, Eye -- Evolution, Primates -- Phylogeny, Evolution (Biology), Dendrogale, Primates -- Evolution, Tupaia, Primates -- Sense organs, Visual cortex | ||||||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Molecular Biology and Evolution | ||||||||||
Publisher: | Oxford University Press | ||||||||||
ISSN: | 0737-4038 | ||||||||||
Official Date: | April 2016 | ||||||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 33 | ||||||||||
Number: | 4 | ||||||||||
Page Range: | pp. 1029-1041 | ||||||||||
DOI: | 10.1093/molbev/msv346 | ||||||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 18 January 2016 | ||||||||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 6 January 2017 | ||||||||||
Funder: | Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) |
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