Rhodopsin gene copies in Japanese eel originated in a teleost-specific genome duplication.

Syntenic and phylogenetic analyses suggest that the duplication of rhodopsin gene in Japanese eel predated the divergence of eel (Elopomorpha) and arowana (Osteoglossomorpha). Thus, based on the principle of parsimony, it is most likely that the rhodopsin paralogs were generated through a whole genome duplication in the ancestor of teleosts, and have remained till the present in eels with distinct functional roles. Our result indicates, for the first time, that teleost-specific genome duplication may have contributed to a gene innovation involved in eel-specific migratory life cycle.