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First published online October 16, 2009
Journal of Experimental Biology 212, 3415-3421 (2009)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2009
doi: 10.1242/jeb.031344
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Individual variation in rod absorbance spectra correlated with opsin gene polymorphism in sand goby (Pomatoschistus minutus)

Mirka Jokela-Määttä1,*, Annika Vartio1, Lars Paulin2 and Kristian Donner1

1 Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
2 Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

* Author for correspondence (mirka.jokela{at}helsinki.fi)

Accepted 28 July 2009

Rod absorbance spectra, characterized by the wavelength of peak absorbance ({lambda}max) were related to the rod opsin sequences of individual sand gobies (Pomatoschistus minutus) from four allopatric populations [Adriatic Sea (A), English Channel (E), Swedish West Coast (S) and Baltic Sea (B)]. Rod {lambda}max differed between populations in a manner correlated with differences in the spectral light transmission of the respective water bodies [{lambda}max: (A){approx}503 nm; (E and S){approx}505–506 nm; (B){approx}508 nm]. A distinguishing feature of B was the wide within-population variation of {lambda}max (505.6–511.3 nm). The rod opsin gene was sequenced in marked individuals whose rod absorbance spectra had been accurately measured. Substitutions were identified using EMBL/GenBank X62405 English sand goby sequence as reference and interpreted using two related rod pigments, the spectrally similar one of the Adriatic P. marmoratus ({lambda}max{approx}507 nm) and the relatively red-shifted Baltic P. microps ({lambda}max{approx}515 nm) as outgroups. The opsin sequence of all E individuals was identical to that of the reference, whereas the S and B fish all had the substitution N151N/T or N151T. The B fish showed systematic within-population polymorphism, the sequence of individuals with {lambda}max at 505.6–507.5 nm were identical to S, but those with {lambda}max at 509–511.3 nm additionally had F261F/Y. The substitution F261Y is known to red-shift the rod pigment and was found in all P. microps. We propose that ambiguous selection pressures in the Baltic Sea and/or gene flow from the North Sea preserves polymorphism and is phenotypically evident as a wide variation in {lambda}max.

Key words: opsin sequence, visual pigment, evolutionary adaptation


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