Large variation among photoreceptors as the basis of visual flexibility in the common backswimmer.
Immonen, Esa-Ville LU ; Ignatova, Irina ; Gislén, Anna LU ; Warrant, Eric LU
; Vähäsöyrinki, Mikko
; Weckström, Matti
and Frolov, Roman
(2014)
In Royal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences
281(1795).
- Abstract
- The common backswimmer, Notonecta glauca, uses vision by day and night for functions such as underwater prey animal capture and flight in search of new habitats. Although previous studies have identified some of the physiological mechanisms facilitating such flexibility in the animal's vision, neither the biophysics of Notonecta photoreceptors nor possible cellular adaptations are known. Here, we studied Notonecta photoreceptors using patch-clamp and intracellular recording methods. Photoreceptor size (approximated by capacitance) was positively correlated with absolute sensitivity and acceptance angles. Information rate measurements indicated that large and more sensitive photoreceptors performed better than small ones. Our results... (More)
- The common backswimmer, Notonecta glauca, uses vision by day and night for functions such as underwater prey animal capture and flight in search of new habitats. Although previous studies have identified some of the physiological mechanisms facilitating such flexibility in the animal's vision, neither the biophysics of Notonecta photoreceptors nor possible cellular adaptations are known. Here, we studied Notonecta photoreceptors using patch-clamp and intracellular recording methods. Photoreceptor size (approximated by capacitance) was positively correlated with absolute sensitivity and acceptance angles. Information rate measurements indicated that large and more sensitive photoreceptors performed better than small ones. Our results suggest that backswimmers are adapted for vision in both dim and well-illuminated environments by having open-rhabdom eyes with large intrinsic variation in absolute sensitivity among photoreceptors, exceeding those found in purely diurnal or nocturnal species. Both electrophysiology and microscopic analysis of retinal structure suggest two retinal subsystems: the largest peripheral photoreceptors provide vision in dim light and the smaller peripheral and central photoreceptors function primarily in sunlight, with light-dependent pigment screening further contributing to adaptation in this system by dynamically recruiting photoreceptors with varying sensitivity into the operational pool. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/4738558
- author
- Immonen, Esa-Ville
LU
; Ignatova, Irina
; Gislén, Anna
LU
; Warrant, Eric
LU
; Vähäsöyrinki, Mikko
; Weckström, Matti
and Frolov, Roman
- organization
- publishing date
- 2014
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Royal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences
- volume
- 281
- issue
- 1795
- article number
- 20141177
- publisher
- Royal Society Publishing
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:25274359
- wos:000343205200011
- scopus:84908141401
- pmid:25274359
- ISSN
- 1471-2954
- DOI
- 10.1098/rspb.2014.1177
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 7c839d42-c7d1-444a-8f89-f65faa21efb6 (old id 4738558)
- alternative location
- http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25274359
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 10:16:49
- date last changed
- 2022-04-04 08:33:09
@article{7c839d42-c7d1-444a-8f89-f65faa21efb6,
abstract = {{The common backswimmer, Notonecta glauca, uses vision by day and night for functions such as underwater prey animal capture and flight in search of new habitats. Although previous studies have identified some of the physiological mechanisms facilitating such flexibility in the animal's vision, neither the biophysics of Notonecta photoreceptors nor possible cellular adaptations are known. Here, we studied Notonecta photoreceptors using patch-clamp and intracellular recording methods. Photoreceptor size (approximated by capacitance) was positively correlated with absolute sensitivity and acceptance angles. Information rate measurements indicated that large and more sensitive photoreceptors performed better than small ones. Our results suggest that backswimmers are adapted for vision in both dim and well-illuminated environments by having open-rhabdom eyes with large intrinsic variation in absolute sensitivity among photoreceptors, exceeding those found in purely diurnal or nocturnal species. Both electrophysiology and microscopic analysis of retinal structure suggest two retinal subsystems: the largest peripheral photoreceptors provide vision in dim light and the smaller peripheral and central photoreceptors function primarily in sunlight, with light-dependent pigment screening further contributing to adaptation in this system by dynamically recruiting photoreceptors with varying sensitivity into the operational pool.}},
author = {{Immonen, Esa-Ville and Ignatova, Irina and Gislén, Anna and Warrant, Eric and Vähäsöyrinki, Mikko and Weckström, Matti and Frolov, Roman}},
issn = {{1471-2954}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1795}},
publisher = {{Royal Society Publishing}},
series = {{Royal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences}},
title = {{Large variation among photoreceptors as the basis of visual flexibility in the common backswimmer.}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.1177}},
doi = {{10.1098/rspb.2014.1177}},
volume = {{281}},
year = {{2014}},
}