Assessing the use of genomic DNA as a predictor of the maximum absorbance wavelength of avian SWS1 opsin visual pigments |
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Authors: | Anders Ödeen Nathan S Hart Olle Håstad |
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Institution: | 1.Department of Animal Ecology,Uppsala University,Uppsala,Sweden;2.School of Biomedical Sciences,The University of Queensland,Brisbane,Australia;3.Department of Evolutionary Organismal Biology,Uppsala University,Uppsala,Sweden |
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Abstract: | Recently, in vitro mutation studies have made it possible to predict the wavelengths of maximum absorbance (λmax) of avian UV/violet sensitive visual pigments (SWS1) from the identity of a few key amino acid residues in the opsin gene.
Given that the absorbance spectrum of a cone’s visual pigment and of its pigmented oil droplet can be predicted from just
the λmax, it may become possible to predict the entire spectral sensitivity of a bird using genetic samples from live birds or museum
specimens. However, whilst this concept is attractive, it must be validated to assess the reliability of the predictions of
λmax from opsin amino acid sequences. In this paper, we have obtained partial sequences covering three of the known spectral tuning
sites in the SWS1 opsin and predicted λmax of all bird species for which the spectral absorbance has been measured using microspectrophotometry. Our results validate
the use of molecular data from genomic DNA to predict the gross differences in λmax between the violet- and ultraviolet-sensitive subtypes of SWS1 opsin. Additionally, we demonstrate that a bird, the bobolink
Dolichonyx oryzivorus L., can have more than one SWS1 visual pigment in its retina. |
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Keywords: | Colour vision Microspectrophotometry MSP Ultraviolet sensitive Violet sensitive |
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