The Natural History of Visual Pigments

Crescitelli, Frederick

doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1958.tb39548.x

Cited by 136 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…1). Uniquely, the photoreceptors of gekkonids (even the diurnal species) display structural features of large rods [Walls, 1942], while forming regular, cone-like mosaics and expressing visual pigments with cone-like properties [Crescitelli, 1991;Kojima et al, 1992Kojima et al, , 1995. While all of the evidence presented here concerns ganglion cells, some of it also points to an interesting relationship between the photoreceptors of this gecko and the dendritic organization of its inner retina.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 82%

“…Although the receptors of nocturnal gekkonids are highly sensitive and resemble thick rods morphologically [Walls, 1942], their output synapses are cone-like [Tansley, 1964], their visual pigments are closely related to those of cones [Crescitelli, 1991;Kojima et al, 1992Kojima et al, , 1995, and they occur in geometric arrays like scaled-up teleost cone arrays, with specific types at specific locations [Dunn, 1966a, b]. Thus, in terms of its inherited neural connectivity, the retina in gekkonid lizards may be as much a pure cone retina as that of any teleost.…”

Section: Dendritic Links and The Photoreceptor Mosaicmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Somatic and Dendritic Mosaics Formed by Large Ganglion Cells in the Retina of the Common House Gecko <i>(Hemidactylus frenatus)</i>

Cook

Noden²

1998

Brain Behav Evol

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Recent studies of large ganglion cells in fishes and frogs have identified a shared inventory of three basic types, with characteristic forms and spatially independent mosaic distributions. These anamniote types and mosaics are hard to match to the large ganglion cell types and mosaics of mammals, implying that the underlying developmental programmes have diverged during evolution. Reptiles and mammals both belong to the amniote lineage, so the point of divergence can be investigated by comparing the large ganglion cells of reptiles with those of mammals, taking fishes and frogs as outgroups. With this aim, ganglion cells of the common house gecko, Hemidactylus frenatus, were labelled with horseradish peroxidase by an in vitro method and studied in retinal flatmounts. Two prominent, regular, spatially independent mosaics were consistently present. One (α_a) was characterized by somata displaced into the inner nuclear layer and dendrites forming planar trees in sublamina a; the other (α_ab) comprised large orthotopic somata and distinctive, bistratified dendrites that formed discrete planar subtrees in sublaminae a and b. These subtrees were joined by up to 40 vertical link segments, whose distribution was found to correlate with the underlying photoreceptor mosaic. Some specimens also contained patches of a third mosaic (α_c), characterized by large orthotopic somata and very large flat trees in sublamina c, but the labelling of this type was inconsistent. These reptilian mosaics share several distinctive characters with anamniote α-cell mosaics but differ markedly from the ganglion cell mosaics of any known mammal. The most parsimonious conclusion is that those mosaic features that are shared by the ganglion cells of all nonmammals are homologous and primitive (symplesiomorphic), while those that are shared by all therian mammals are homologous and derived (synapomorphic). This is consistent with other differences between mammalian and nonmammalian eyes. Mosaic formation itself, however, seems to be a universal characteristic of large ganglion cells.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Section: Dendritic Links and The Photoreceptor Mosaicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Somatic and Dendritic Mosaics Formed by Large Ganglion Cells in the Retina of the Common House Gecko <i>(Hemidactylus frenatus)</i>

Cook

Noden²

1998

Brain Behav Evol

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“…That seasonal shifts in A 1 /A 2 VP ratio are found in such a diverse range of species suggests that vitamin A 1 /A 2 VP ratio is not linked directly to migration and metamorphic events as was previously thought (Crescitelli, 1958;Crescitelli, 1991;Munz and Beatty, 1965;Wald, 1939;Wald, 1941;Wald, 1960), particularly when the seasonal timing of these events is taken into consideration.…”

Section: Rodsmentioning

confidence: 92%

Ontogenetic changes in photoreceptor opsin gene expression in coho salmon(Oncorhynchus kisutch, Walbaum)

Temple

Veldhoen

Phelan

et al. 2008

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYPacific salmonids start life in fresh water then migrate to the sea, after a metamorphic event called smoltification, later returning to their natal freshwater streams to spawn and die. To accommodate changes in visual environments throughout life history, salmon may adjust their spectral sensitivity. We investigated this possibility by examining ontogenetic and thyroid hormone (TH)-induced changes in visual pigments in coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch, Walbaum). Using microspectrophotometry, we measured the spectral absorbance (quantified by λ max ) of rods, and middle and long wavelength-sensitive (MWS and LWS) cones in three age classes of coho, representing both freshwater and marine phases. The λ max of MWS and LWS cones differed among freshwater (alevin and parr) and ocean (smolt) phases. The λ max of rods, on the other hand, did not vary, which is evidence that vitamin A 1 /A 2 visual pigment chromophore ratios were similar among freshwater and ocean phases when sampled at the same time of year. Exogenous TH treatment long wavelength shifted the λ max of rods, consistent with an increase in A 2 . However, shifts in cones were greater than predicted for a change in chromophore ratio. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR demonstrated that at least two RH2 opsin subtypes were expressed in MWS cones, and these were differentially expressed among alevin, parr and THtreated alevin groups. Combined with changes in A 1 /A 2 ratio, differential expression of opsin subtypes allows coho to alter the spectral absorbance of their MWS and LWS cones by as much as 60 and 90 nm, respectively. To our knowledge, this is the largest spectral shift reported in a vertebrate photoreceptor.

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“…Although some of these animals have rod pigments similar to those of terrestrial mammals (Crescitelli 1958;Lavigne and Ronald 1975), some deep-diving species have been shown to have modified rod pigments that provide increased sensitivity to the blue-green wavelengths of light that predominate in deep ocean water, k$475 nm (Lythgoe and Dartnall 1970;Kirk 1994;Southall et al 2002). There is also evidence that the cone visual pigments of some pinnipeds have been modified for use in the marine environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Visual pigments of marine carnivores: pinnipeds, polar bear, and sea otter

et al. 2006

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Rod and cone visual pigments of 11 marine carnivores were evaluated. Rod, middle/long-wavelength sensitive (M/L) cone, and short-wavelength sensitive (S) cone opsin (if present) sequences were obtained from retinal mRNA. Spectral sensitivity was inferred through evaluation of known spectral tuning residues. The rod pigments of all but one of the pinnipeds were similar to those of the sea otter, polar bear, and most other terrestrial carnivores with spectral peak sensitivities (k max ) of 499 or 501 nm. Similarly, the M/L cone pigments of the pinnipeds, polar bear, and otter had inferred k max of 545 to 560 nm. Only the rod opsin sequence of the elephant seal had sensitivity characteristic of adaptation for vision in the marine environment, with an inferred k max of 487 nm. No evidence of S cones was found for any of the pinnipeds. The polar bear and otter had S cones with inferred k max of $440 nm. Flickerphotometric ERG was additionally used to examine the in situ sensitivities of three species of pinniped. Despite the use of conditions previously shown to evoke cone responses in other mammals, no cone responses could be elicited from any of these pinnipeds. Rod photoreceptor responses for all three species were as predicted by the genetic data.

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The Natural History of Visual Pigments

Cited by 136 publications

References 46 publications

Somatic and Dendritic Mosaics Formed by Large Ganglion Cells in the Retina of the Common House Gecko <i>(Hemidactylus frenatus)</i>

Somatic and Dendritic Mosaics Formed by Large Ganglion Cells in the Retina of the Common House Gecko <i>(Hemidactylus frenatus)</i>

Ontogenetic changes in photoreceptor opsin gene expression in coho salmon(Oncorhynchus kisutch, Walbaum)

Visual pigments of marine carnivores: pinnipeds, polar bear, and sea otter

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