Year: 2010
Type: article
Abstract: It has been discovered that the transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) proteins of Boidae (boas), Pythonidae (pythons), and Crotalinae (pit vipers) are used to detect infrared radiation, but the molecular mechanism for detecting the infrared radiation is unknown. Here, relating the amino acid substitutions in their TRPA1 proteins and the functional differentiations, we propose that three parallel amino acid changes (L330M, Q391H, and S434T) are responsible for the development of infrared vision in the three groups of snakes. Protein modeling shows that the three amino acid changes alter the structures of the central region of their ankyrin repeats.
Source: Molecular Biology and Evolution
Authors: Shozo Yokoyama, Ahmet Altun, Dale F. DeNardo
Institutions: Emory University, Arizona State University
Language: English
Topic: Ion Channels and Receptors
Subfield: Sensory Systems
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2085866330