Conserved transcriptional regulation of a cone phototransduction gene in vertebrates

cGMP-phosphodiesterase (PDE) is a key component in visual phototransduction. Rod and cone photoreceptors each produce their unique cGMP-PDE subunits. The α ′ catalytic subunits are believed to be cone-specific. In this study, we report that transfection of the −132 to +139 sequence in the upstream region of the human α ′-PDE gene fused to luciferase cDNA gives the highest level of reporter gene transcription in cultured retinoblastoma Y79 cells. Transgenic Xenopus laevis carrying this sequence fused to green fluorescent protein (GFP) expressed GFP in cones, suggesting a conserved regulatory mechanism for α ′-PDE transcription in both human and frog.