Cocurullo, M.; Paganos, P.; Annunziata, R.; Voronov, D.; Arnone, M.I. Single-Cell Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals the Molecular Profile of Go-Opsin Photoreceptor Cells in Sea Urchin Larvae. Cells2023, 12, 2134.
Cocurullo, M.; Paganos, P.; Annunziata, R.; Voronov, D.; Arnone, M.I. Single-Cell Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals the Molecular Profile of Go-Opsin Photoreceptor Cells in Sea Urchin Larvae. Cells 2023, 12, 2134.
Cocurullo, M.; Paganos, P.; Annunziata, R.; Voronov, D.; Arnone, M.I. Single-Cell Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals the Molecular Profile of Go-Opsin Photoreceptor Cells in Sea Urchin Larvae. Cells2023, 12, 2134.
Cocurullo, M.; Paganos, P.; Annunziata, R.; Voronov, D.; Arnone, M.I. Single-Cell Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals the Molecular Profile of Go-Opsin Photoreceptor Cells in Sea Urchin Larvae. Cells 2023, 12, 2134.
Abstract
The ability to perceive and respond to light stimuli is fundamental not only for spatial vision, but also to many other light mediated interactions with the environment. In animals, light perception is performed by specific cells known as photoreceptors and, at molecular level, by a group of GPCRs known as Opsins. Sea urchin larvae possess a group of photoreceptor cells (PRCs), deploying a Go-Opsin (Opsin3.2), which have been shown to share transcription factors and morphology with PRCs of the ciliary type, contributing to raising new questions on how this sea urchin larva PRC is specified and whether it shares a common ancestor with ciliary PRCs or it evolved independently through convergent evolution.
To answer these questions, we combined immunohistochemistry and fluorescent in situ hybridization to investigate how the Opsin3.2 PRCs develop in the sea urchin Strogylocentrotus purpuratus larva. Subsequently, we applied single cell transcriptomics to investigate the molecular signature of the Sp-Opsin3.2 cells, and show that they deploy an ancient regulatory program responsible for photoreceptors specification. Finally, we also discuss the possible functions of the Opsin3.2 cells based on their molecular fingerprint, and we suggest that they are involved in a variety of signaling pathways, including those entailing the thyrotropin-releasing hormone.
Keywords
Opsin; Photoreceptors; Evolution; Sea Urchin
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Cell and Developmental Biology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
