The biology of vision of Drosophila.

AUTOR(ES)

Zuker, C S

RESUMO

Phototransduction systems in vertebrates and invertebrates share a great deal of similarity in overall strategy but differ significantly in the underlying molecular machinery. Both are rhodopsin-based G protein-coupled signaling cascades displaying exquisite sensitivity and broad dynamic range. However, light activation of vertebrate photoreceptors leads to activation of a cGMP-phosphodiesterase effector and the generation of a hyperpolarizing response. In contrast, activation of invertebrate photoreceptors, like Drosophila, leads to stimulation of phospholipase C and the generation of a depolarizing receptor potential. The comparative study of these two systems of phototransduction offers the opportunity to understand how similar biological problems may be solved by different molecular mechanisms of signal transduction. The study of this process in Drosophila, a system ideally suited to genetic and molecular manipulation, allows us to dissect the function and regulation of such a complex signaling cascade in its normal cellular environment. In this manuscript I review some of our recent findings and the strategies used to dissect this process.

Documentos Relacionados

• Requirement for a phospholipase C in odor response: overlap between olfaction and vision in Drosophila.
• Complete sequence of the bithorax complex of Drosophila.
• Cloning sequences from the hairy gene of Drosophila.
• Further studies of the engrailed phenotype in Drosophila.
• Paleomolecular biology unravels the evolutionary mystery of vertebrate UV vision