Wc. Smith et al., OPSINS FROM THE LATERAL EYES AND OCELLI OF THE HORSESHOE-CRAB, LIMULUS-POLYPHEMUS, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United Statesof America, 90(13), 1993, pp. 6150-6154
cDNA clones encoding opsins from the lateral eyes and median ocelli of
the horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, were isolated from cDNA libra
ries. The opsin cDNAs obtained from the lateral eye and ocellar librar
ies code for deduced proteins with 376 amino acids. The two cDNAs are
96% identical at the nucleic acid level, differing primarily at the 3'
untranslated region, and are apparently the products of two separate
genes. The deduced opsin proteins are 99% identical to each other, dif
fering at only 5 amino acids. The opsins encoded by these cDNAs are mo
st likely the protein moiety of the visible-wavelength rhodopsins in t
his animal. In the lateral eye, expression of the opsin gene is restri
cted to the photoreceptor cells of the ommatidia. Comparisons with ops
ins of other species show that the Limulus opsin proteins are most sim
ilar (53% identity) to the opsin from the R1-6 photoreceptors of flies
.