| First Author | Nadal-Nicolás FM | Year | 2020 |
| Journal | Elife | Volume | 9 |
| PubMed ID | 32463363 | Mgi Jnum | J:290241 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6442112 | Doi | 10.7554/eLife.56840 |
| Citation | Nadal-Nicolas FM, et al. (2020) True S-cones are concentrated in the ventral mouse retina and wired for color detection in the upper visual field. Elife 9:e56840 |
| abstractText | Color, an important visual cue for survival, is encoded by comparing signals from photoreceptors with different spectral sensitivities. The mouse retina expresses a short wavelength-sensitive and a middle/long wavelength-sensitive opsin (S- and M-opsin), forming opposing, overlapping gradients along the dorsal-ventral axis. Here, we analyzed the distribution of all cone types across the entire retina for two commonly used mouse strains. We found, unexpectedly, that 'true S-cones' (S-opsin only) are highly concentrated (up to 30% of cones) in ventral retina. Moreover, S-cone bipolar cells (SCBCs) are also skewed towards ventral retina, with wiring patterns matching the distribution of true S-cones. In addition, true S-cones in the ventral retina form clusters, which may augment synaptic input to SCBCs. Such a unique true S-cone and SCBC connecting pattern forms a basis for mouse color vision, likely reflecting evolutionary adaptation to enhance color coding for the upper visual field suitable for mice's habitat and behavior. |
