New class of photoreceptors identified

NEW YORK, April 24 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have identified a new class of photoreceptors in the retina of fruit flies that they say sheds light on the regulation of color vision.

The scientists at New York University's Center for Developmental Genetics said their discovery might have implications for olfactory research, since both photoreceptors and olfactory receptors belong to the same protein family.

The New York University researchers examined the eye of the fruit fly Drosophila. In each of the estimated 800 individual facets that make up the fly's eyes, there are eight photoreceptors. Six of those mediate broad-spectrum detection of motion, while two mediate color vision and are similar to the human cone photoreceptors.

The researchers, led by Professor Claude Desplan, sought to understand the mechanisms that regulate mutual exclusion of rhodopsin photoreceptor genes in the fly retina. Their results revealed a new class of photoreceptors located in the dorsal third of the eye.

The findings are detailed in the journal PloS Biology.