Biology subjects

Terakita, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Terakita, A..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2022

High-performance GPCR optogenetics based on molecular properties of animal opsins, MosOpn3 and LamPP

Optogenetics for GPCR signaling is highly valuable but still requires effective and versatile tools with performance evaluation from molecular properties. Here we investigated performance of two animal opsins, mosquito Opn3 (MosOpn3) and lamprey parapinopsin (LamPP) in optical manipulation in vivo by using C. elegans. MosOpn3 introduced in a nociceptor neurons induced avoidance responses light-dependently with a retinal isomer ubiquitously present in every tissue, like ChR2 and unlike canonical vertebrate opsins. Remarkably, the sensitivity is ~7000 times higher than the case of ChR2 in the light-induced behavior. LamPP introduced in motor neurons induced violet light-dependent stop and green light-dependent go, demonstrating color-dependent manipulation of behaviors using LamPP. Furthermore, our molecular engineering extended the usability of MosOpn3 and LamPP to different signaling cascades and kinetics. Current findings demonstrated that the availability of two animal opsins is equivalent to that of ChR2 in terms of retinal requirement, providing solid strategies for GPCR optogenetics.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2022

The Emergence of the Metabolic Signaling of the Nucleoredoxin-like Genes during Evolution

The nucleoredoxin-like genes NXNL1 and NXNL2 were identified through the biological activity of rod-derived cone viability factors (RdCVF and RdCVF2), the alternatively spliced variants produced by intron retention, that mediate signaling between rod and cone photoreceptors by stimulating glucose uptake. These therapeutic genes for inherited retinal degenerations also produce by splicing thioredoxin-like proteins that reduce oxidized cysteines in photoreceptor proteins. The first NXNL genes date from the first animal phyla. Intron retention produces an active RdCVF protein in the tentacles of Hydra vulgaris, a species without eyes. A Scallop RdCVF protein is produced by ciliated photoreceptors of the retina and binds its receptor, BSG1. In the lamprey, a descendent of early vertebrates, RdCVF metabolic signaling between rod and cones is fully established. In the mouse, the production of BSG1 by photoreceptors is regulated by cell-specific splicing inhibition. RdCVF signaling predates photoreceptors and evolved through two alternative splicing events.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2021

Whale shark rhodopsin adapted to its vertically wide-ranging lifestyle

Spectral tuning of visual pigments often facilitates adaptation to new environments, and it is intriguing to study the visual ecology of pelagic sharks with expanded habitats. The whale shark, which dives into the deep sea of nearly 2,000 meters besides near-surface filter-feeding, was previously shown to possesses the blue-shifted rhodopsin (RHO). In this study, our spectroscopy of recombinant whale shark RHO mutants revealed the dominant effect of the novel spectral tuning amino acid site 94, which is implicated in congenital stationary night blindness of humans, accounting for the blue shift. Thermal decay profiling revealed the reduction of the thermal stability of whale shark RHO, as typically observed for cone opsins, which was experimentally shown to be achieved by the site 178, as well as 94. The results suggest that these two sites cooperatively enhance the visual capacity in both the deep sea and the sea surface, enabling exceptionally wide vertical migration of this species.

evolutionary biology↗