2025/10/08 by Giacinto De Vivo, Éric Pelletier, Roberto Feuda +1 · 1 voice · 2 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Neuroscience · #Biological evolution #Comparative biology #Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation #Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research #Opsin #Photoreceptor and optogenetics research #Phylogenetic relationship #Phylogenetic tree #Phylogenetics #Rhodopsin
paper · pdf · doi:10.1093/gbe/evaf189
openalex publication_date 2025/10/08 · openalex created_date 2025/11/05 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
In this study, we explored the diversity and evolution of opsins using meta-omic data from the Tara Oceans and Tara Polar Circle expeditions, one of the largest marine datasets available. By using sequence similarity methods and phylogenetic analyses, we identified opsins across the different metazoan groups. Our results indicate that most of the opsin sequences belong to arthropods and vertebrates. We also detected sequences from all known opsin subfamilies, including r-opsin, c-opsin, xenopsin, and Group-4 opsins. Despite the broad taxonomic scope, no new opsin families were discovered; however, we provide valuable taxonomic insights into known opsin subfamilies and reinforce existing phylogenetic hypotheses. Additionally, we present novel opsin sequences from less-studied taxa, such as chaetognaths, rotifers, acoelomates, and tunicates, and which may serve as a valuable resource for future research into opsin function and diversity.