Spectral sensitivity of light-induced hatching and expression of genes mediating photoreception in eggs of the Asian tadpole shrimp Triops granarius

Embryonic development of the Asian tadpole shrimp Triops granarius is arrested at an early stage of organogenesis under darkness, whereas exposure to light resumes its development and promotes hatching. To better understand the photoreception systems involved in the light-induced hatching of T. granarius eggs, we examined the spectral sensitivity of hatching and the expression of genes involved in photoreception (opsins) and phototransduction (arrestin 2). Hatching of eggs is induced by light of broad wavelengths, from ultraviolet (UV) (395 nm) to red (660 nm), suggesting that visual pigments are involved in photoreception. Next, we focused on opsins which are protein moieties of visual pigments and arrestin 2 which is involved in a phototransduction cascade. Transcripts of several opsin genes and the arrestin 2 gene were detected in T. granarius eggs. Thus, we present a possibility that T. granarius eggs use visual pigments for light perception in light-induced hatching.