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    Euarchontan opsin variation brings new focus to Primate origins

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    Primate origins 2016.pdf (964.2Kb)
    Issue Date
    2016-04
    Author
    Amanda D. Melin
    Wells, Konstans
    Moritz, Gillian L.
    Kistler, Logan
    Orkin, Joseph D.
    Timm, Robert M.
    Bernard, Henry
    Lakim, Maklarin B.
    Perry, George H.
    Kawamura, Shoji
    Dominy, Nathaniel J.
    Publisher
    Molecular Biology and Evolution
    Type
    Article
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    Abstract
    Debate on the adaptive origins of primates has long focused on the functional ecology of the primate visual system. For example, it is hypothesized that variable expression of short- (SWS1) and middle-to-long-wavelength sensitive (M/LWS) opsins, which confer color vision, can be used to infer ancestral activity patterns and therefore selective ecological pressures. A problem with this approach is that opsin gene variation is incompletely known in the grandorder Euarchonta, i.e., the orders Scandentia (treeshrews), Dermoptera (colugos), and Primates. The ancestral state of primate color vision is therefore uncertain. Here we report on the genes (OPN1SW and OPN1LW) that encode SWS1 and M/LWS opsins in seven species of treeshrew, including the sole nocturnal scandentian Ptilocercus lowii. In addition, we examined the opsin genes of the Central American woolly opossum (Caluromys derbianus), an enduring ecological analogue in the debate on primate origins. Our results indicate: 1) retention of ultraviolet (UV) sensitivity in C. derbianus and a shift from UV to blue spectral sensitivities at the base of Euarchonta; 2) ancient pseudogenization of OPN1SW in the ancestors of P. lowii, but a signature of purifying selection in those of C. derbianus; and, 3) the absence of OPN1LW polymorphism among diurnal treeshrews. These findings suggest functional variation in color vision of nocturnal mammals and a distinctive visual ecology of early primates, perhaps one that demanded greater spatial resolution under light levels that could support cone-mediated color discrimination.
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    http://hdl.handle.net/1808/21134
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    • Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Scholarly Works [1494]
    Citation
    Melin, A. D. et al. 2016. Euarchontan opsin variation brings new focus to Primate origins. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 33(4):1029–1041.

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    KU Libraries
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    Lawrence, KS 66045
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    Contact KU ScholarWorks
    785-864-8983
    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    785-864-8983

    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    Image Credits
     

     

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