Characterization of a novel human opsin gene with wide tissue expression and identification of embedded and flanking genes on chromosome 1q43

ks part of an ongoing search to identify novel mammalian photopigments that may mediate nonvisual tasks such as circadian entrainment and acute suppre ssion of pineal melatonin levels, a number of recently cloned nonvisual ops in sequences were used to search dbEST, panopsin (OPN3) was one of the clon es identified using this approach, Expression analysis detects two transcri pts of approximately 2.1 and 2.5 kb, in a wide range of tissues including b rain, liver, and retina, which encode a predicted protein of 403 amino acid s. The gene was localized to the region of chromosome 1q43 also encompassin g the kynurenine monooxygenase (KMO) and choroideremia-like Rab escort prot ein 2 (CHML) genes. KMO and panopsin overlap at their 3' ends but are trans cribed in opposite directions, CHML, an intronless gene, lies in intron 1 o f panopsin, (C) 2001 Academic Press.