Fig. 1

Blue light provides a model for light-induced oxidative stress and retinal degeneration in flies. a Six-day-old white-eyed flies undergo retinal degeneration after 8 h blue light exposure. Blue light-induced retinal degeneration was suppressed by trp mutations that prevent phototransduction-associated calcium influx, and by reducing oxidative stress. One-day-old flies did not exhibit blue light-dependent oxidative stress or retinal degeneration. b Schematic for photoreceptor transcriptome profiling after exposure to blue light. Male cn, bw; Rh1-Gal4, UAS-GFP-Msp300KASH flies were raised in 12 h/12 h light/dark conditions for 1 or 6 days prior to 3 h blue light exposure (2 mW/cm²) or dark control. A custom designed optical stimulator with built-in temperature control was used for all experiments. Photoreceptor nuclei labeled with KASH-GFP were affinity isolated and nuclear RNA was ribo-depleted and analyzed by RNA-seq