PUBLICATION
Regulatory function of conserved sequences upstream of the long-wave sensitive opsin genes in teleost fishes
- Authors
- Tam, K.J., Watson, C.T., Massah, S., Kolybaba, A.M., Breden, F., Prefontaine, G.G., and Beischlag, T.V.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-111024-7
- Date
- 2011
- Source
- Vision Research 51(21-22): 2295-303 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Watson, Corey
- Keywords
- opsins, transcriptional regulation, retinoic acid orphan receptor, color vision, teleosts
- MeSH Terms
-
- Animals
- Color Vision/genetics*
- Color Vision/physiology
- Cone Opsins/genetics*
- Cone Opsins/metabolism
- Conserved Sequence/physiology*
- Enhancer Elements, Genetic
- Fishes/genetics*
- Gene Expression Regulation*
- Genes, Reporter
- Luciferases
- Protein Binding/genetics
- Receptors, Retinoic Acid/metabolism*
- Retinal Cone Photoreceptor Cells
- Transcription Factors/metabolism
- PubMed
- 21971525 Full text @ Vision Res.
Citation
Tam, K.J., Watson, C.T., Massah, S., Kolybaba, A.M., Breden, F., Prefontaine, G.G., and Beischlag, T.V. (2011) Regulatory function of conserved sequences upstream of the long-wave sensitive opsin genes in teleost fishes. Vision Research. 51(21-22):2295-303.
Abstract
Vertebrate opsin genes often occur in sets of tandem duplicates, and their expression varies developmentally and in response to environmental cues. We previously identified two highly conserved regions upstream of the long-wave sensitive opsin (LWS) gene cluster in teleosts. This region has since been shown in zebrafish to drive expression of LWS genes in vivo. In order to further investigate how elements in this region control opsin gene expression, we tested constructs encompassing the highly conserved regions and the less conserved portions upstream of the coding sequences in a promoter-less luciferase expression system. A <4500 bp construct of the upstream region, including the highly-conserved regions Reg I and Reg II, increased expression 100-fold, and successive 52 deletions reduced expression relative to the full 4.5 Kb region. Gene expression was highest when the transcription factor RORα was co-transfected with the proposed regulatory regions. Because these regions were tested in a promoter-less expression system, they include elements able to initiate and drive transcription. Teleosts exhibit complex color-mediated adaptive behavior and their adaptive significance has been well documented in several species. Therefore these upstream regions of LWS represent a model system for understanding the molecular basis of adaptive variation in gene regulation of color vision.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping