Under pressure: Evolutionary trade-offs shape the single visual opsin of deep-sea octopods
Giacinto De Vivo, Minglei Ma, Giobbe Forni, Andrea Luchetti, Fabio Crocetta, Marjorie A. Liénard, Salvatore D’Aniello
This study investigates how the single visual opsin in deep-sea octopods evolves across different light environments, finding specific amino acid substitutions that alter spectral sensitivity and structural properties to adapt to pressure and light conditions.
bioRxiv · Jul 20, 2026 · PreprintEvolutionary Biology