DAILY GALAXY: Gene Discovered that Distinguishes Vision in Vertibrates

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Our eyes that scan the farthest reaches of the universe had their origin in water, in the simple hydra, a members ancient group of sea creatures that along with jellyfish, belong to the phylum cnidaria that first emerged 600 million years ago and are still flourishing.  "We determined which genetic 'gateway,' or ion channel, in the hydra is involved in light sensitivity," said Todd H. Oakley, assistant professor in UCSB's Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology author of a 2010 UC Santa Barbara study. "This is the same gateway that is used in human vision."

Oakley explained that there are many genes involved in vision, and that there is an ion channel gene responsible for starting the neural impulse of vision. This gene controls the entrance and exit of ions; i.e., it acts as a gateway. The gene, called opsin, is present in vision among vertebrate animals, and is responsible for a different way of seeing than that of animals like flies. The vision of insects emerged later than the visual machinery found in hydra and vertebrate animals.

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Discoveries On the Evolution of the Eye --Our Window on the Universe

News Date: 

Monday, February 8, 2016