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Function and evolutionary origin of unicellular camera-type eye structure.

  • Hayakawa S CIB-DDBJ, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Japan.
  • Takaku Y CIB-DDBJ, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Japan.
  • Hwang JS CIB-DDBJ, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Japan.
  • Horiguchi T Department of Natural History Sciences, Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
  • Suga H Department of Cell Biology Biozentrum, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
  • Gehring W Department of Cell Biology Biozentrum, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
  • Ikeo K CIB-DDBJ, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Japan.
  • Gojobori T CIB-DDBJ, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Japan; Department of Life Sciences, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan; CBRC/BESE, KAUST, Thuwal, 23955-6900, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
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  • 2015-03-04
Published in:
  • PloS one. - 2015
Animal Structures
Animals
Biological Evolution
Dinoflagellida
Gene Expression
In Situ Hybridization
Lens, Crystalline
Light
Photic Stimulation
Photoreceptor Cells
Phylogeny
Protozoan Proteins
Rhodopsin
Rhodopsins, Microbial
Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
Symbiosis
English The ocelloid is an extraordinary eyespot organelle found only in the dinoflagellate family Warnowiaceae. It contains retina- and lens-like structures called the retinal body and the hyalosome. The ocelloid has been an evolutionary enigma because of its remarkable resemblance to the multicellular camera-type eye. To determine if the ocelloid is functionally photoreceptive, we investigated the warnowiid dinoflagellate Erythropsidinium. Here, we show that the morphology of the retinal body changed depending on different illumination conditions and the hyalosome manifests the refractile nature. Identifying a rhodopsin gene fragment in Erythropsidinium ESTs that is expressed in the retinal body by in situ hybridization, we also show that ocelloids are actually light sensitive photoreceptors. The rhodopsin gene identified is most closely related to bacterial rhodopsins. Taken together, we suggest that the ocelloid is an intracellular camera-type eye, which might be originated from endosymbiotic origin.
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  • English
Open access status
gold
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Persistent URL
https://sonar.ch/global/documents/53514
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