Meeting Abstract

P3.152  Friday, Jan. 6  Dermal opsins of the summer flounder, Paralichthys dentatus NAHM, A.C.*; BELL, G.; KUZIRIAN, A.M.; HANLON, R.T.; CRONIN, T.W.; University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA; Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA; Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA; University of Maryland, Baltimore County anahm1@umbc.edu

Like other fishes, summer flounder, Paralichthys dentatus, are hypothesized to have dermal opsins that are potentially photoreceptive. These potential photoreceptors are thought to detect light, possibly playing a role in regulating patterns of camouflage. We examined this possibility, using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to amplify any opsin genes expressed in several regions of skin, as well as those of the retina. We identified four opsins in the eye of P. dentatus. BLAST analysis determined that these were from the vertebrate rhodopsin classes RH1 (rhodopsin), RH2 (middle wavelength sensitive), LWS (long wavelength sensitive) and SWS2 (short wavelength sensitive). Several regions of skin had more than one opsin present in a single sample. RH1 and SWS2 are present on the ventral side, dorsal side, and dorsal fin. The amino acid sequences of these opsins match the predicted amino acid sequences of the opsins found in the eye. Future work will include in situ hybridization to determine the cell types in which the opsins are expressed, as well as continuing attempts to identify the presence of other opsin classes in both the retina and in the skin cells.