| First Author | Jin N | Year | 2020 |
| Journal | Sci Adv | Volume | 6 |
| Issue | 28 | Pages | eaba7232 |
| PubMed ID | 32832605 | Mgi Jnum | J:329033 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6796002 | Doi | 10.1126/sciadv.aba7232 |
| Citation | Jin N, et al. (2020) Molecular and functional architecture of the mouse photoreceptor network. Sci Adv 6(28):eaba7232 |
| abstractText | Mouse photoreceptors are electrically coupled via gap junctions, but the relative importance of rod/rod, cone/cone, or rod/cone coupling is unknown. Furthermore, while connexin36 (Cx36) is expressed by cones, the identity of the rod connexin has been controversial. We report that FACS-sorted rods and cones both express Cx36 but no other connexins. We created rod- and cone-specific Cx36 knockout mice to dissect the photoreceptor network. In the wild type, Cx36 plaques at rod/cone contacts accounted for more than 95% of photoreceptor labeling and paired recordings showed the transjunctional conductance between rods and cones was ~300 pS. When Cx36 was eliminated on one side of the gap junction, in either conditional knockout, Cx36 labeling and rod/cone coupling were almost abolished. We could not detect direct rod/rod coupling, and cone/cone coupling was minor. Rod/cone coupling is so prevalent that indirect rod/cone/rod coupling via the network may account for previous reports of rod coupling. |
