Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology Publications 10-26-2016 The Last Common Ancestor of Most Bilaterian Animals Possessed at Least Nine Opsins M. Desmond Ramirez University of California Autum N. Pairett Iowa State University M. Sabrina Pankey University of New Hampshire, Durham Jeanne M. Serb Iowa State University,
[email protected] Daniel I. Speiser University of South Carolina SeFoe nelloxtw pa thige fors aaddndition addal aitutionhorsal works at: http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/eeob_ag_pubs Part of the Animal Sciences Commons, Behavior and Ethology Commons, and the Evolution Commons The ompc lete bibliographic information for this item can be found at http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ eeob_ag_pubs/240. For information on how to cite this item, please visit http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/ howtocite.html. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology Publications by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. The Last Common Ancestor of Most Bilaterian Animals Possessed at Least Nine Opsins Abstract The opsin eg ne family encodes key proteins animals use to sense light and has expanded dramatically as it originated early in animal evolution. Understanding the origins of opsin diversity can offer clues to how separate lineages of animals have repurposed different opsin paralogs for different light-detecting functions. However, the more we look for opsins outside of eyes and from additional animal phyla, the more opsins we uncover, suggesting we still do not know the true extent of opsin diversity, nor the ancestry of opsin diversity in animals.