Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Research Highlight
  • Published:

Cell fate

I'm the only one you need (for night vision)

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 8, page 167 (2007)Cite this article

NRL is a transcriptional regulator of rod-specific genes, and mice lacking NRL (Nrl−/−) develop rod-free, cone-only retinas. The questions remained of whether or not rods and cones are established from a common pool of competent cells, and whether Nrl expression can drive the transformation of precursors into rod-only retinas. Swaroop and colleagues generated transgenic mice expressing Nrl under the control of cone–rod homeobox (Crxp-Nrl) on a wild-type (Crxp-Nrl/WT) or Nrl−/− (Crxp-Nrl/Nrl−/−) background. Crx is expressed in postmitotic cells of the retina that can develop into either cone or rod photoreceptors.

Retinal sections of Crxp-Nrl mice of both backgrounds contained only rods and no cones. Electroretinograms (ERGs) obtained during darkness and light showed that rod-mediated dark adaptation was normal in both Crxp-Nrl mouse lines, but impaired in Nrl−/− mice. Cone-derived ERGs showed an impaired response in both Crxp-Nrl mouse lines, but normal and supernormal responses in wild-type and Nrl−/− mice respectively, as expected. These results indicate that Nrl expression converts all cells of the common cone/rod precursor pool into rods.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Oh, E. C. T. et al. Transformation of cone precursors to functional rod photoreceptors by bZIP transcriptional factor NRL. PNAS 104, 1679–1684 (2007)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Claudia Wiedemann
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wiedemann, C. I'm the only one you need (for night vision). Nat Rev Neurosci 8, 167 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2110

Download citation

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2110

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing