Journal article

Feedback from rhodopsin controls rhodopsin exclusion in Drosophila photoreceptors

  • Vasiliauskas, Daniel Center for Developmental Genetics, Department of Biology, New York University, New York, USA
  • Mazzoni, Esteban O. Center for Developmental Genetics, Department of Biology, New York University, New York, USA - Departments of Pathology, Neurology, and Neuroscience, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, USA
  • Sprecher, Simon G. Center for Developmental Genetics, Department of Biology, New York University, New York, USA - Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Switzerland
  • Brodetskiy, Konstantin Center for Developmental Genetics, Department of Biology, New York University, New York, USA
  • Johnston, Robert J. Center for Developmental Genetics, Department of Biology, New York University, New York, USA
  • Lidder, Preetmoninder Center for Developmental Genetics, Department of Biology, New York University, New York, USA
  • Vogt, Nina Center for Developmental Genetics, Department of Biology, New York University, New York, USA
  • Celik, Arzu Center for Developmental Genetics, Department of Biology, New York University, New York, USA - Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Bogazici University, Bebek, Istanbul, Turkey
  • Desplan, Claude Center for Developmental Genetics, Department of Biology, New York University, New York, USA
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    09.10.2011
Published in:
  • Nature. - 2011, vol. 479, no. 7371, p. 108–112
English Sensory systems with high discriminatory power use neurons that express only one of several alternative sensory receptor proteins. This exclusive receptor gene expression restricts the sensitivity spectrum of neurons and is coordinated with the choice of their synaptic targets. However, little is known about how it is maintained throughout the life of a neuron. Here we show that the green-light sensing receptor rhodopsin 6 (Rh6) acts to exclude an alternative blue-sensitive rhodopsin 5 (Rh5) from a subset of Drosophila R8 photoreceptor neurons4. Loss of Rh6 leads to a gradual expansion of Rh5 expression into all R8 photoreceptors of the ageing adult retina. The Rh6 feedback signal results in repression of the rh5 promoter and can be mimicked by other Drosophila rhodopsins; it is partly dependent on activation of rhodopsin by light, and relies on Gαq activity, but not on the subsequent steps of the phototransduction cascade. Our observations reveal a thus far unappreciated spectral plasticity of R8 photoreceptors, and identify rhodopsin feedback as an exclusion mechanism.
Faculty
Faculté des sciences et de médecine
Department
Département de Biologie
Language
  • English
Classification
Biological sciences
License
License undefined
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://folia.unifr.ch/unifr/documents/302373
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