Wh. Chou et al., IDENTIFICATION OF A NOVEL DROSOPHILA OPSIN REVEALS SPECIFIC PATTERNING OF THE R7 AND R8 PHOTORECEPTOR CELLS, Neuron, 17(6), 1996, pp. 1101-1115
The function of the compound eye is dependent upon a developmental pro
gram that specifies different cell fates and directs the expression of
spectrally distinct opsins in different photoreceptor cells. Rh5 is a
novel Drosophila opsin gene that encodes a biologically active visual
pigment that is expressed in a subset of R8 photoreceptor cells. Rh5
expression in the R8 cell of an individual ommatidium is strictly coor
dinated with the expression of Rh3, in the overlying R7 cell. In seven
less mutant flies, which lack R7 photoreceptor cells, the expression o
f the Rh5 protein in R8 cells is disrupted, providing evidence for a s
pecific developmental signal between the R7 and R8 cells that is respo
nsible for the paired expression of opsin genes.