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Evolution

Colour vision for mice

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 8, pages 328–329 (2007)Cite this article

Most mammals have just two types of photoreceptor, sensitive to short (S) or medium (M) wavelengths of light. However, in most New World monkeys, the X-chromosomal gene that encodes the M receptor has a second allele that is sensitive to long (L) wavelengths; therefore, heterozygous females have S, M and L receptors and are consequently trichromatic. In Old World primates, the X-chromosomal locus has duplicated and diverged, giving all individuals trichromatic vision; however, the New World monkey system is thought to be ancestral.

Gerald Jacobs and colleagues attempted to recreate the New World monkey situation in mice by replacing the M locus with the human L locus and breeding heterozygous females. The process of random X-chromosomal inactivation in clones of cells means that there are separate populations of M- and L-expressing cones in the eyes of such individuals, but the proportions of the two are variable. Initial physiological tests showed that the L cones were functional, so the authors carried out behavioural tests to assess new colour vision.

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References

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Jacobs, G. H., Williams, G. A., Cahill, H. & Nathans, J. Emergence of novel color vision in mice engineered to express a human cone photopigment. Science 315, 1723–1725 (2007)

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FURTHER READING

  1. Solomon, S. G. & Lennie, P. The machinery of colour vision. Nature Rev. Neurosci. 8, 276–286 (2007)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Associate Editor, Nature Reviews Genetics,

    Patrick Goymer

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  1. Patrick Goymer
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Goymer, P. Colour vision for mice. Nat Rev Neurosci 8, 328–329 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2135

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