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Melanopsin (Opn4), a ubiquitously expressed photoreceptor in all classes of vertebrates, is crucial for both visual and non-visual signaling. Opn4 supports visual functions of the eye by sensing radiance levels and discriminating contrast and brightness. Non-image-forming functions of Opn4 not only regulate circadian behavior, but also control growth and development processes of the retina. It is unclear how a single photoreceptor could govern such a diverse range of physiological functions; a role in genetic hardwiring could be one explanation, but molecular and mechanistic evidence is lacking. In addition to its role in canonical G pathway activation, here we demonstrate that Opn4 efficiently activates G heterotrimers and signals through the G protein βγ. Compared with the low levels of G pathway activation observed for several G-coupled receptors, the robust Gα and Gβγ signaling of Opn4 led to both generation of PIP and directional migration of RAW264.7 macrophages. We propose that the ability of Opn4 to signal through Gα and Gβγ subunits is a major contributor to its functional diversity.

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Abiotic and biotic environments influence a myriad of plant-related processes, including growth, development, and the establishment and maintenance of interaction(s) with microbes. In the case of the latter, elevated temperature has been shown to be a key factor that underpins host resistance and pathogen virulence.In this study, we elucidate a role for Arabidopsis NON-RACE-SPECIFIC DISEASE RESISTANCE1 (NDR1) by exploiting effector-triggered immunity to define the regulation of plant host immunity in response to both pathogen infection and elevated temperature.We generated time-series RNA sequencing data of WT Col-0, an NDR1 overexpression line, and ndr1 and ics1-2 mutant plants under elevated temperature. Not surprisingly, the NDR1overexpression line showed genotype-specific gene expression changes related to defense response and immune system function.The results described herein support a role for NDR1 in maintaining cell signaling during simultaneous exposure to elevated temperature and avirulent pathogen stressors.