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Light detection in a 'blind' mammal

Nature Neuroscience volume 1, pages 655–656 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

There has been considerable debate whether the opsin genes of several 'blind' animals code for functional photopigments, and if so, what physiological responses these photopigments may mediate1. We report the first isolation and in vitro expression of a functional cone-like photopigment from the highly degenerate eye of a visually blind fossorial mammal, the blind mole rat (Spalax ehrenbergi). Furthermore, we show that this photopigment mediates the effects of light on circadian behavior in this species.

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Figure 1: Example of circadian locomotor behavior of Spalax ehrenbergi (2n = 60 chromosomal species11).
Figure 2: Absorbance spectrum of the expressed LWS photopigment of Spalax .

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Acknowledgements

We thank Corné Klaassen and Petra Bovee for help with baculovirus expression and purification of Spalax LWS opsin and Rosalie Crouch for providing 11-cis retinal. This research was partially supported by grants from HPSP and EU BioMed to R.G.F. and W.dG., and the Wellcome Trust to R.G.F.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sir Alexander Fleming Building, Department of Biology, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, Imperial College Road, London, SW7 2AZ, UK

    Zoë K. David-Gray & Russell G. Foster

  2. Department of Biochemistry 160-FWM, Institute for Cellular Signaling (ICS), University of Nijmegen, P.O. Box 9101, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Jannie W. H. Janssen & Willem J. DeGrip

  3. Institute of Evolution, University of Haifa, Mt. Carmel, 31905, Haifa, Israel

    Evitar Nevo

  4. NSF Center for Biological Timing, University of Virginia, Gilmer Hall, Charlottesville, 22901, Virginia, USA

    Russell G. Foster

Authors
  1. Zoë K. David-Gray
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  2. Jannie W. H. Janssen
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  3. Willem J. DeGrip
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  4. Evitar Nevo
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  5. Russell G. Foster
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Correspondence to Zoë K. David-Gray.

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David-Gray, Z., Janssen, J., DeGrip, W. et al. Light detection in a 'blind' mammal. Nat Neurosci 1, 655–656 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/3656

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