Takashi Seiko, Takushi Kishida, Mina Toyama, Takahiko Hariyama, Takashi Okitsu, Akimori Wada, Mamoru Toda, Yoko Satta, Yohey Terai
BACKGROUND: Evolutionary transitions from terrestrial to aquatic life history cause drastic changes in sensory systems. Indeed, the drastic changes in vision have been reported in many aquatic amniotes, convergently. Recently, the opsin genes of the full-aquatic sea snakes have been reported. However, those of the amphibious sea snakes have not been examined in detail. RESULTS: Here, we investigated opsin genes and visual pigments of sea snakes. We determined the sequences of SWS1, LWS, and RH1 genes from one terrestrial, three amphibious and four fully-aquatic elapids...
November 26, 2020: BMC Evolutionary Biology