In vitro expression and spectral absorption measurements of the SWS1 photopigment of the Colubridae snake Helicops modestus

• Grant number: 18/09321-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: October 15, 2018
• End date: June 14, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Molecular Genetics and Genetics of Microorganisms
• Principal Investigator: Dora Selma Fix Ventura
• Grantee: Einat Hauzman
• Supervisor: Belinda Chang
• Host Institution: Instituto de Psicologia (IP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Toronto (U of T), Canada
• Associated to the scholarship: 14/25743-9 - Expression of opsins and melanopsins in snakes' retinas: molecular genetics and immunohistochemistry, BP.PD

Abstract

The visual system of snakes has phylogenetic and ecological variations related to their habits and activity patterns. Nocturnal species have typical duplex retinas, with rods and cones, while diurnal species have pure cone retinas, with no rod-like photoreceptors. Three opsin genes are expressed in retinas of most species, the rhodopsin gene RH1 expressed in rods and the cone opsin genes LWS and SWS1 expressed in cones. The absorption peak (lmax) of the opsins was measured for some snake species using microspectrophotometry (MSP) and in vitro expression techniques, and for many species, the lmax was indirectly estimated based on the amino acid composition at specific spectral tuning sites of the opsins. Despite the fact that the lmax estimates from genetic data are broadly used and reliable for many species, it has to be cautiously used, especially when considering groups of vertebrates with few data available from direct measurements for comparison, and when the effects of one specific amino acid substitution was not evaluated using other direct techniques. For the SWS1 opsin, one residue is responsible for shifts of the lmax towards longer wavelengths, from UV to violet. The presence of the amino acid phenylalanine in residue 86 is responsible for UV sensitivity in many vertebrates. Two studies described the F86V substitution in a few species of snakes, but the effects of this substitution is not known. In Helicops modestus, a diurnal aquatic snake, residue 86 is polymorphic and both amino acids, phenylalanine and valine, were found. This may indicate the presence of two distinct short wavelength sensitive opsins, with different lmax. In this project, we aim to investigate the effects of the F86V substitution in the lmax of snake cone opsin SWS1, using in vitro expression technique, and determine if this polymorphism results in the presence of two distinct short wavelength sensitive opsins in H. modestus. The presence of two SWS1 opsins might contribute to either the color discrimination within the short wavelength range, or to a broader photon absorption within that range, depending on the associated post-receptoral neural network.

Scientific publications

(5)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

HENRIQUES, LEONARDO DUTRA; HAUZMAN, EINAT; OLIVEIRA BONCI, DANIELA MARIA; CHANG, BELINDA S. W.; PEREIRA CARNEIRO MUNIZ, JOSE AUGUSTO; SOUZA, GIVAGO DA SILVA; DE LIMA SILVEIRA, LUIZ CARLOS; GALVAO, OLAVO DE FARIA; KILPP GOULART, PAULO RONEY; VENTURA, DORA FIX. Uniform trichromacy in Alouatta caraya and Alouatta seniculus: behavioural and genetic colour vision evaluation. Frontiers in Zoology, v. 18, n. 1, JUL 8 2021. (18/09321-8, 19/14606-4, 14/26818-2, 14/25743-9)

MANTOVANI, VIVIANI; HAUZMAN, EINAT; CORREDOR, VITOR H.; GOULART, PAULO R. K.; GALVAO, OLAVO; TALEBI, MAURICIO; PESSOA, DANIEL M. A.; SOARES, JULIANA G. M.; FIORANI, MARIO; GATTASS, RICARDO; et al. Genetic variability of the sws1 cone opsin gene among New World monkeys. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PRIMATOLOGY, v. 82, n. 12, DEC 2020. (14/26818-2, 14/25743-9, 18/09321-8, 08/58731-2)

HAUZMAN, EINAT. Adaptations and evolutionary trajectories of the snake rod and cone photoreceptors. SEMINARS IN CELL & DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY, v. 106, p. 8-pg., 2020-10-01. (14/25743-9, 18/09321-8)

HAUZMAN, EINAT. Adaptations and evolutionary trajectories of the snake rod and cone photoreceptors. SEMINARS IN CELL & DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY, v. 106, n. SI, p. 86-93, OCT 2020. (18/09321-8, 14/25743-9)

HAUZMAN, EINAT; PIEROTTI, MICHELE E. R.; BHATTACHARYYA, NIHAR; TASHIRO, JULIANA H.; YOVANOVICH, CAROLA A. M.; CAMPOS, POLLYANNA F.; VENTURA, DORA F.; CHANG, BELINDA S. W.. imultaneous Expression of UV and Violet SWS1 Opsins Expands the Visual Palette in a Group of Freshwater Snake. Molecular Biology and Evolution, v. 38, n. 12, p. 5225-5240, DEC 2021. (18/11502-0, 14/26818-2, 18/13910-9, 14/25743-9, 18/09321-8, 13/07467-1, 15/14857-6)