Yokoyama S
Department of Biology, Syracuse University, New York 13214.
Mol Biol Evol. 1995 Jan;12(1):53-61. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a040190.
An important unanswered question in phototransduction is how visual pigments (VPs) regulate their wavelength of maximal absorption (lambda max). By constructing the evolutionary tree for 28 opsins with known lambda max values, we can identify the times and directions of lambda max shift of different VPs. A total of 55 amino acid changes are shown to correlate with the directions of lambda max shift and might have been important in determining lambda max of a VP. Among these, three amino acid changes are already proven to be responsible in modifying the green-sensitive VP to the red-sensitive VP. The present evolutionary analysis opens a new direction in understanding the mechanism for the regulation of wavelength absorption by a VP and, more generally, in studying molecular mechanism involved in adaptive evolution.
光转导中一个重要的未解决问题是视觉色素（VPs）如何调节其最大吸收波长（λmax）。通过构建具有已知λmax值的28种视蛋白的进化树，我们可以确定不同VPs的λmax移动时间和方向。共有55个氨基酸变化与λmax移动方向相关，可能在确定VP的λmax方面起重要作用。其中，三个氨基酸变化已被证明可将绿色敏感型VP转变为红色敏感型VP。目前的进化分析为理解VP调节波长吸收的机制开辟了新方向，更广泛地说，为研究适应性进化中涉及的分子机制开辟了新方向。
