The protein rhodopsin is involved in dim light vision and is known to have played a role in allowing mammals and fishes to exploit novel niches and diversify over evolutionary time. Genomic changes known to alter the amino acid sequence and affect optimum light wavelength absorption have recently been confirmed to change fish behaviour under different light conditions, and we are in a position to test this experimentally against a controlled genomic background using CRISPR-cas9 gene editing of cichlid fish. However, the consequences of the genomic changes are unclear at the protein level using only static structural surveys, and we now need to understand the relationship between structure, dynamics and function of the protein.

In this project you will 1) amplify and sequence alternative genotypes known to affect behaviour from populations of Astatotilapia calliptera 2) insert the full gene into an expression plasmid and culture mammalian cells for protein production 3) Use state of the art time-resolved crystallography and spectroscopic methods to identify the dynamic structural changes between alternative genotypes under different ecologically relevant light conditions.