conespecific

Conespecific is an adjective used in biology to describe something that is specific to cone photoreceptor cells in the retina, as opposed to rods. It can refer to gene expression, proteins, promoters, or physiological processes that occur predominantly or exclusively in cones.

In practice, cone-specific elements include promoters that drive transgene expression only in cone cells. For example, cone opsin gene promoters from L- and M-opsins are used to restrict expression to cone photoreceptors in retinal research and gene therapy. Cone-specific proteins include cone opsins (short-, medium-, and long-wavelength opsins), cone transducin subunit GNAT2, and cone-specific subunits of the cyclic nucleotide–gated channel such as CNGA3 and CNGB3.

The term also appears in descriptions of cellular physiology and pathology, where researchers distinguish cone-specific pathways from rod or pan-retinal processes. This distinction supports studies of color vision, high-acuity vision, and diseases that predominantly affect cones, such as achromatopsia, as well as the development of cone-targeted therapies.

In usage, cone-specific can be written with or without a hyphen, as cone-specific or conespecific. The hyphenated form is more common in many journals, but both convey the same meaning. The term is descriptive rather than a formal taxonomic category, and its exact interpretation depends on context.