Ultraviolet vision in lizards

Fleishman, Leo J.; Loew, Ellis R.; Leal, Manuel

doi:10.1038/365397a0

Cited by 217 publications

(147 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…adaptive evolution ͉ quantum chemistry ͉ scabbardfish T he use of ultraviolet (UV) vision by a wide range of vertebrates for such basic behaviors as mate choice, foraging, and communication (1)(2)(3) gives the impression that organisms with UV vision have a selective advantage over those without it. However, many species, including humans, have switched from UV vision to violet vision even when they receive abundant UV light in their environments.…”

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Evolutionary replacement of UV vision by violet vision in fish

Tada¹,

Altun

Yokoyama³

2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The vertebrate ancestor possessed ultraviolet (UV) vision and many species have retained it during evolution. Many other species switched to violet vision and, then again, some avian species switched back to UV vision. These UV and violet vision are mediated by short wavelength-sensitive (SWS1) pigments that absorb light maximally ( However, many species, including humans, have switched from UV vision to violet vision even when they receive abundant UV light in their environments. Two major reasons are given for these changes (4): (i) the eye structures of many species have been modified so that UV light does not reach the retina, protecting their retinal tissues, and somehow violet vision evolved; and (ii) without UV vision, organisms can improve visual resolution and subtle contrast detection. However, a certain avian ancestor replaced violet vision by UV vision (5), and it is not clear why the avian ancestor abandoned such evolutionary achievements associated with violet vision.To understand possible selective advantages of the evolutionary switches between UV and violet vision (5), we must identify critical amino acid changes that cause such functional changes and relate UV and violet vision of organisms to their ecological environments and life styles (6, 7). Living in diverse and reasonably well-defined light environments, fish offer the best opportunity to elucidate the molecular bases for the spectral tuning and adaptive evolution of SWS1 pigments at the same time (8). However, to achieve these goals, we are faced with two major problems. First, certain amino acid changes at 13 sites are known to shift the max s of SWS1 pigments to date (5, 9-14), but it is a daunting task to identify other critical amino acid changes because their effects on the max -shift are often not detectible when they are studied individually (9,15,16). Second, and perhaps more disturbingly, no violet-sensitive SWS1 pigment has been isolated from fish (17). Having no violet-sensitive SWS1 pigment in fish, we cannot relate UV and violet vision to organisms' ecological environments. Hence, to elucidate the evolutionary mechanisms of UV and violet vision, it is of utmost importance to isolate violet-sensitive SWS1 pigments from fish. ResultsScabbardfish and Lampfish SWS1 Opsins and Visual Pigments. Juvenile scabbardfish (Lepidopus fitchi) live at depths of 20-50 m, but adult fish move to the depth of 100-500 m (www.fishbase.org). In contrast, lampfish (Stenobrachius leucopsarus) can be active even at a depth of 3,000 m but rapidly ascend to near the surface after sunset and feed on zooplankton (www.fishbase.org). We isolated the complete SWS1 opsin genes from these species by using PCR amplification and inverse PCR methods. The cloning results show that the scabbardfish and lampfish genes consist of 336 and 338 codons, respectively (Fig. 1). Compared with the SWS1 pigment in the vertebrate ancestor (pigment a) (5), these genes are missing several codons at the 5Ј-and 3Ј-ends (Fig. 1). By using the in vitro assay (18), we found that ...

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Evolutionary replacement of UV vision by violet vision in fish

Tada¹,

Altun

Yokoyama³

2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…UV-reflecting plumages in birds and scales in fishes are used for recognition of others (4,5). Similarly, throat dewlaps in some reptiles and scent marks in rodents are used for communications more effectively under UV light than under visible light (6,7). UV vision is also used in determining the sex ratio (8) in addition to sexual selection (9,10).…”

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Molecular analysis of the evolutionary significance of ultraviolet vision in vertebrates

Shi

Yokoyama

2003

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

175

215

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Many fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and some mammals use UV vision for such basic activities as foraging, mate selection, and communication. UV vision is mediated by UV pigments in the short wavelength-sensitive type 1 (SWS1) group that absorb light maximally ( max) at Ϸ360 nm. Reconstructed SWS1 pigments of most vertebrate ancestors have max values of Ϸ360 nm, whereas the ancestral avian pigment has a max value of 393 nm. In the nonavian lineage, UV vision in many modern species is inherited directly from the vertebrate ancestor, whereas violet vision in others has evolved by different amino acid replacements at Ϸ10 specific sites. In the avian lineage, the origin of the violet pigment and the subsequent restoration of UV pigments in some species are caused by amino acid replacements F49V͞F86S͞L116V͞S118A and S90C, respectively. The use of UV vision is associated strongly with UV-dependent behaviors of organisms. When UV light is not available or is unimportant to organisms, the SWS1 gene can become nonfunctional, as exemplified by coelacanth and dolphin.

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“…It took an additional 60 years to fully appreciate UV vision in vertebrate species ( Jacobs 1992), but we now know that many fish, amphibian, reptilian, avian, and mammalian species use UV vision for foraging, mate choice, and communication (Burkhardt 1982(Burkhardt , 1989Harosi 1985;Fleishman et al 1993;Viitala et al 1995;Bennett et al 1996;Hunt et al 1997;Sheldon et al 1999). In vertebrates, UV vision is mediated by visual pigments that absorb light maximally (l max ) at 360 nm and violet (or blue) vision is mediated by violet (or blue) pigments with l max -values of 390-440 nm.…”

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Genetic Basis of Spectral Tuning in the Violet-Sensitive Visual Pigment of African Clawed Frog, Xenopus laevis

Takahashi

Yokoyama

2005

Genetics

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Ultraviolet (UV) and violet vision in vertebrates is mediated by UV and violet visual pigments that absorb light maximally (l max ) at 360 and 390-440 nm, respectively. So far, a total of 11 amino acid sites only in transmembrane (TM) helices I-III are known to be involved in the functional differentiation of these short wavelength-sensitive type 1 (SWS1) pigments. Here, we have constructed chimeric pigments between the violet pigment of African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) and its ancestral UV pigment. The results show that not only are the absorption spectra of these pigments modulated strongly by amino acids in TM I-VII, but also, for unknown reasons, the overall effect of amino acid changes in TM IV-VII on the l max -shift is abolished. The spectral tuning of the contemporary frog pigment is explained by amino acid replacements F86M, V91I, T93P, V109A, E113D, L116V, and S118T, in which V91I and V109A are previously unknown, increasing the total number of critical amino acid sites that are involved in the spectral tuning of SWS1 pigments in vertebrates to 13.

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Ultraviolet vision in lizards

Cited by 217 publications

References 7 publications

Evolutionary replacement of UV vision by violet vision in fish

Evolutionary replacement of UV vision by violet vision in fish

Molecular analysis of the evolutionary significance of ultraviolet vision in vertebrates

Genetic Basis of Spectral Tuning in the Violet-Sensitive Visual Pigment of African Clawed Frog, Xenopus laevis

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