Opsin evolution: update blog

This cluster of web articles on opsin evolution is updated almost daily. Because those changes are scattered across various long articles, this simple directory of articles and blog of significant changes may be helpful.

• Introduction to the opsin classifier and curated sequence collection
• Key critters with genomics: deuterostomes
• Key critters with genomics: protostomes
• Key critters with genomics: cnidaria and porifera
• 230 opsins aligned: consensus-colored image and motif searchable text
• Ancestral intron reconstruction for ciliary opsins
• Ancestral status of informative coding indels
• Ancestral sequence reconstruction for ciliary opsins
• LWS: generating locus for imaging opsins
• Encephalopsin and TMT: massive gene loss in mammalian clades
• Melanopsins show gene and exon loss in mammals
• RGR opsin: abrupt change in DRY motif in boreoeutheres
• Peropsin: phyloSNPs (synapomorphies) in persopsin evolution
• Neuropsin (OPN5): 52 deuterostome genes and a novel paralog, Newropsin
• Color vision in the platypus and ancestral mammal
• Annotation tricks: genes from traces, intron patterns, resolving indels, trimming
• Tracking significant updates (this page)
• The photoreceptor fossil record (planned)
• Subscholarly opsin literature and defective evolutionary inference (planned)
• Opsin evolution: the bottom line (in progress)
• Comparative genomics of other eye developmental and structural genes (volunteers needed)

Reverse Chronological Update Blog

27 Aug 08: added choanoflagellate genome, no opsins but Gi and Gq class heteromeric G proteins
26 Aug 08: compiled 16 Nematostella non-opsins yet with lysine in retinal position
25 Aug 08: reviewed placozoan genome project and 4 opsins asserted for it
20 Aug 08: added opsins from Rhodnius genome project (traces only)
12 Aug 08: reviewed exciting new developments in cnidarian (Tripedalia) ciliary opsins and transducin binding site
08 Aug 08: recovered very old SWS2 unprocessed pseudogene in Petromyzon (lamprey) and updated key critter article
01 Aug 08: recovered SWS1 unprocessed pseudogene from Petromyzon marinus (lamprey) genome
30 Jul 08: expanded RHO2 collection to 8 teleost fish and one exon from RHO2 of chondrichthyes; lamprey RHO1/2 still muddled
29 Jul 08: evolution of upstream RORB and CRX control regions for LWS and SWS1
28 Jul 08: control region section for LWS; recovered LCR_LWS orthologs for 35 species spanning lamprey to human
27 Jul 08: new echidna data for monotreme opsin evolution; gene tree x species tree showing regressive mammalian opsin evolution 

20 Apr 08: revisited LWS in many more species; expanded ancestral SWS2+ LWS+ linkage species
13 Apr 08: special section on melanopsins in vertebrates: gene loss of MEL2 and gene shrinkage in MEL1
06 Apr 08: expanded TMT class of encephalopsins to 14 species, shark to marsupial, showed lost in all placentals
05 Apr 08: demonstrated massive gene loss of mammalian encephalopsins and placental TMT opsins
27 Mar 08: upgraded lamprey larval section and brought opsin collection to 17 (in 11 orthology classes) 
23 Mar 08: new section aligning 94 LWS and analyzing its PhyloSNPs
17 Mar 08: discovery of a novel opsin occuring from sharks to birds, lost in mammals: newropsin

14 Mar 08: new section on neuropsin comparative genomics 
07 Mar 08: new section on peropsin synapomorphies
20 Feb 08: new section on RGR: clade-defining changes (phyoSNPs), gene loss in marsupial
10 Jan 08: added Tribolium critter section on opsin loss, ommitidia cell gain, non-opsin GPCR content.
09 Jan 08: posted paraphyletic gene tree explanation for 'too many' opsins in Daphnia, Nematostella, and Cladonema: 
opsins duplicated, diverged, neofunctionalized to non-opsin non-photoreceptors nesting within opsins.

08 Jan 08: added key critter section on hydrozoan Cladonema putative opsins.
07 Jan 08: added ancient intron discussion for melanopsins.
05 Jan 08: finished ancient intron section for peropsin group.
04 Jan 08: added new key critters section for hydrozoan Cladonema radiatum,
03 Jan 08: made comparative conservation profile for 54 new cnidarian opsins proposed by Gehring group.

02 Jan 08: added comparative genomics of RGR because of curious loss of DRY motif in boreoeutheres.
31 Dec 07: posted fullscale comparison of ciliary opsin introns
29 Dec 07: extracted scattered elements of the binding pocket for comparative genomic covariance study.
28 Dec 07: added new discussion on peropsins as more than mere photoisomerases and in need of subfamily refinement.
27 Dec 07: recovered new Aplysia and Lottia peropsins orthologous to experimentally studied squid 'retinochrome'.

26 Dec 07: started new page on coding indels and completely rewrote main introductory page.
25 Dec 07: added key critters section for human body louse and its 3 rhabdomeric opsins.
24 Dec 07: fixed arrestin quasi-cognate section and proposed bioinformatic approach to unstudied opsin/arrestin pairs
23 Dec 07: added alignment of C-terminus and comparative genomics of phosphorylation sites vis-a-vis arrestins 
22 Dec 07: upgraded alignment of all opsin sequences, trimmed at one or both ends, color consensus and motif searchable.

21 Dec 07: added an annotation trick that allows trimming and residue selection from the reference opsin set.
20 Dec 07: added comparative genomics discussion of counterion and its switching.
19 Dec 07: added greatly to opsin structure/function in ancient sequence section to explain conserved diagnostic motifs.
18 Dec 07: began new page on ancestral ciliary opsin sequence reconstruction.
17 Dec 07: added new ciliary opsins from Daphnia, Tribolium, Aedes, and Culex genomes.

16 Dec 07; began new page on ancestral ciliary opsin intron pattern.
14 Dec 07: upgraded sponge photoreceptor account, found final exon of new Platynereis ciliary exon.
13 Dec 07: extended JGI staff models of 3 intronless ciliary encephalopsins from Nematostella to full length.
12 Dec 07: added Nematostella and Hydra sections awaiting clarification.
11 Dec 07: finished larval and adult photoreception in Ciona.

10 Dec 07: expanded section on Ciona to include possible otolith paralogous photoreceptor.
09 Dec 07: added a treatment of two tunicate pinopsin-like opsins and their ancient introns.
08 Dec 07: added a section on intron cross-comparison to the annotation tutorial.
08 Dec 07: added treatment of two platyhelminthes to Lophotrochozoa area.
07 Dec 07: added 2 trematode and 1 planaria opsins, exon pattern matches melanopsin.

06 Dec 07: added cnidarian larval rhabdomeric single-cell eye and adult rhopalium imagery.
05 Dec 07: added Capitella literature survey and a new melanopsin from genome assembly.
04 Dec 07: added Helobedella literature survey and new opsins from genome assembly.
03 Dec 07: added Lottia, reviewed genome assembly, found an opsin but could not locate anything on ocelli.
02 Dec 07: added Aplysia eye anatomy and apparent melanopsin ortholog to key critters.

29 Nov 07: added platynereis story to critters, described second new ciliary opsin.
29 Nov 07: added graphics comparing eye systems in deuts and lophs, illustrated everse and inverse eyes.
29 Nov 07: added sea urchin opsins to critter discussion, graphic of expression in larva and adult.
29 Nov 07: added 6 sea urchin reference opsins by repairing gene models, adding introns, and reclassifying.
28 Nov 07: added Xenoturbella and Convoluta section to basal key critters, no opsins available.

28 Nov 07: upgraded key critters with treatment of Saccoglossus.
28 Nov 07: found first hemichordate opsin, put methods into detailed tutorial.
28 Nov 07: received copywrite permissions for use of handdrawn invertebrate eyes illustrations.
28 Nov 07: added jump navigation to key critters as article is getting fairly long.
27 Nov 07: added scallop Go opsins from an important historic study.
27 Nov 07: reorganized curated sequences into deuterostome, ecdysozoa, lophotrochozoa blocks sorted by receptor type.

                                 2008 site visits   
#pages  topic             22 Apr  12 May  29 Jul  4 Sep
47      main               814      896    1076    1227
14      key deuterostomes    0        0     107     170
19      key protostomes   1106     1207    1279    1351
25      key cnidaria         0        0       0     120
 8      alignment          231      256     304     324
10      introns            180      202     252     274
 2      indels              97      118     157     179
11      ancestral          247      269     318     351
24      LWS                 68      104     169     218
12      encephalopsin       67      110     181     216
13      melanopsin          24       70     132     160
13      RGR phyloSNPs       98      120     181     200
16      peropsin            89      117     174     195
15      neuropsin           83      102     164     188
 8      platypus color     290      338     488     574
 6      tricks             169      191     304     343
 3      blog              1178      1329   1798    2158
246     total             4741      5429   7084    8248
        per day             31        34     22      31