Spectral absorbance, structure, and population density of photoreceptors in the retina of the lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens)

2007 ◽  
Vol 85 (4) ◽  
pp. 584-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.J. Sillman ◽  
E.K. Ong ◽  
E.R. Loew
Keyword(s):  
Visual Pigment ◽  
Visual Pigments ◽  
Lake Sturgeon ◽  
Acipenser Fulvescens ◽  
Long Wavelength ◽  
Rods And Cones ◽  
The North ◽  
Spectral Absorbance ◽  
Dim Light ◽  
Scanning Electron

Lake sturgeon ( Acipenser fulvescens Rafinesque, 1817) photoreceptors were studied with scanning electron microscopy and microspectrophotometry. The retina contains both rods and cones, with cones estimated composing about 30% of the photoreceptor population. Only large single cones were identified and they are similar to those found in other species of the order Acipenseriformes. The rods are large, with long, broad outer segments, and are similar to the dominant rod found in other sturgeons and the North American paddlefish ( Polyodon spathula (Walbaum, 1792)). Mean (SD) rod packing density at 22 624 ± 3 509 rods/mm2 is low compared with those of other animals that function primarily in dim light. The visual pigment of the rods has a mean (SD) peak absorbance (λmax) at 541 ± 2 nm. Three different cone populations were identified: a long wavelength sensitive cone containing a visual pigment with λmax at 619 ± 3 nm; middle wavelength sensitive cone with λmax at 538 ± 1 nm; and short wavelength sensitive cone with λmax at 448 ± 1 nm. All the visual pigments are based on the vitamin A2 chromophore.

Age-related changes in the visual pigments of the white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus)

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (8) ◽  
pp. 1552-1557 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. R. Loew ◽  
A. J. Sillman
Keyword(s):  
Visual Pigment ◽  
Visual Pigments ◽  
White Sturgeon ◽  
Acipenser Transmontanus ◽  
Disulfonic Acid ◽  
Fluorescent Substance ◽  
Rods And Cones ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Juvenile Sturgeon ◽  
Spectral Absorbance

Using in situ microspectrophotometry, the spectral absorbance characteristics of the photoreceptors in the retinas of larval, juvenile, and adult white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) were determined. The adult has one type of rod, containing a visual pigment with maximum spectral absorbance (λmax) near 540 nm. There are three types of cones, morphologically identical but distinguished from one another by containing either a blue-sensitive (λmax 464 nm), green-sensitive (λmax 531 nm), or red-sensitive (λmax 605 nm) visual pigment. Juvenile sturgeon have visual pigments similar to those of the adult. However, no evidence could be found for the presence of either blue-sensitive or red-sensitive cones in larval white sturgeon through the age of 10 weeks. Larval sturgeon up to about 10 weeks yielded only green-sensitive rods and cones. The absence of red-sensitive cones in the larvae, and their presence in older fish, was confirmed by the use of 4,4′-diisothiocyanato-stilbene-2,2′-disulfonic acid, a fluorescent substance that binds selectively to photoreceptors sensitive to long-wavelength light. Regardless of age, all visual pigments are based on vitamin A2. Also regardless of age, white sturgeon retinas yielded no evidence for the presence of photoreceptors sensitive to ultraviolet light.

The photoreceptors and visual pigments in the retina of a boid snake, the ball python (Python regius)

1999 ◽  
Vol 202 (14) ◽  
pp. 1931-1938 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.J. Sillman ◽  
J.K. Carver ◽  
E.R. Loew
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Scanning Electron Microscopy ◽  
Visual Pigment ◽  
Outer Segment ◽  
Visual Pigments ◽  
Single Type ◽  
Python Regius ◽  
Rods And Cones ◽  
Outer Segments ◽  
Scanning Electron

The photoreceptors and visual pigments of Python regius were studied using microspectrophotometry and scanning electron microscopy. The retina contains rods and cones, with rods constituting at least 90 % of the photoreceptor population. The rods are of a single type with long, narrow outer segments and are tightly packed. The wavelength of maximum absorbance (λ max) of the visual pigment in the rods is in the region of 494 nm. Two distinct types of cone are present. The most common cone, with a stout but stubby outer segment, contains a visual pigment with λ max at approximately 551 nm. A relatively rare cone, with a long, slender outer segment, contains an ultraviolet-sensitive visual pigment with λ max at approximately 360 nm. All the visual pigments have chromophores based on vitamin A1. The results are discussed in relation to the behavior of P. regius.

The photoreceptors and visual pigments in the retina of the white sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus

1990 ◽  
Vol 68 (7) ◽  
pp. 1544-1551 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Sillman ◽  
M. D. Spanfelner ◽  
E. R. Loew
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin A ◽  
Visual Pigment ◽  
Visual Pigments ◽  
Spectrophotometric Analysis ◽  
White Sturgeon ◽  
Acipenser Transmontanus ◽  
Light Regimen ◽  
Cone Pigment ◽  
Spectral Absorbance

The photoreceptors in the retina of the white sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus (Chondrostei), were studied by means of scanning electron microscopy, in situ microspectrophotometry, and spectrophotometric analysis of visual pigment extracts. The white sturgeon retina is simple in that it contains only two morphologically distinct photoreceptors. The retina is dominated by rods with large outer segments, but there is a substantial population (40%) of single cones. Evidence was found for only one rod visual pigment and one cone visual pigment. Peak spectral absorbance (λmax) of the rod pigment is near 539 nm, whereas λmax of the cone pigment is near 605 nm. Both visual pigments are porphyropsin types with chromophores based on vitamin A2. No detectable rhodopsin based on vitamin A1 is ever present, regardless of season or light regimen. The results are discussed in terms of the sturgeon's behavior, as well as the implications for the evolution of color vision.

Visual pigments and oil droplets in diurnal lizards

2002 ◽  
Vol 205 (7) ◽  
pp. 927-938 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellis R. Loew ◽  
Leo J. Fleishman ◽  
Russell G. Foster ◽  
Ignacio Provencio
Keyword(s):  
Visual Pigment ◽  
Visual Pigments ◽  
Anolis Carolinensis ◽  
Visual Cell ◽  
Oil Droplets ◽  
Oil Droplet ◽  
Long Wavelength ◽  
Apparent Color ◽  
Vitamin A2 ◽  
Insight Into

SUMMARY We report microspectrophotometric (MSP) data for the visual pigments and oil droplets of 17 species of Caribbean anoline lizard known to live in differing photic habitats and having distinctly different dewlap colors. The outgroup Polychrus marmoratus was also examined to gain insight into the ancestral condition. Except for Anolis carolinensis, which is known to use vitamin A2 as its visual pigment chromophore, all anoline species examined possessed at least four vitamin-A1-based visual pigments with maximum absorbance (λmax) at 564, 495,455 and 365 nm. To the previously reported visual pigments for A. carolinensis we add an ultraviolet-sensitive one withλ max at 365 nm. Five common classes of oil droplet were measured, named according to apparent color and associated with specific cone classes — yellow and green in long-wavelength-sensitive (LWS) cones,green only in medium-wavelength-sensitive (MWS) cones and colorless in short-wavelength-sensitive (SWS) and ultraviolet-sensitive (UVS) cones. MSP data showed that the colorless droplet in the SWS cone had significant absorption between 350 and 400 nm, while the colorless droplet in the UVS cone did not. The pattern for Polychrus marmoratus was identical to that for the anoles except for the presence of a previously undescribed visual cell with a rod-like outer segment, a visual pigment with a λmaxof 497 nm and a colorless oil droplet like that in the UVS cones. These findings suggest that anoline visual pigments, as far as they determine visual system spectral sensitivity, are not necessarily adapted to the photic environment or to the color of significant visual targets (e.g. dewlaps).

Development and evaluation of a habitat suitability model for young lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) in the North Channel of the St. Clair River, Michigan

2017 ◽  
Vol 74 (7) ◽  
pp. 1000-1008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph R. Krieger ◽  
James S. Diana
Keyword(s):  
Habitat Suitability ◽  
Lake Sturgeon ◽  
Acipenser Fulvescens ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Spawning Habitat ◽  
Catch Per Unit Effort ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Habitat Suitability Modeling ◽  
The North ◽  
River Bends

We evaluated the quantity, quality, and spatial distribution of riverine nursery habitat for larval, young-of-year (YOY), and juvenile (<500 mm) lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) in the North Channel of the St. Clair River (SCR), Michigan, using habitat suitability modeling (HSM) and fish collections. This HSM was developed using georeferenced habitat information on substrates, invertebrate densities, benthic flow velocities, and water depth. High-quality habitat comprised 29.1% of the study area, primarily in river bends and other areas where water velocities were highly varied. In all, 283 larval lake sturgeon were collected, with the majority found in high-quality habitat (81%) and heavily clustered in three locations (91.2% of total catch). Substrate composition and benthic flow velocity were the best indicators of observed larval catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) patterns. Available data on captured YOY and juveniles were used to corroborate modeled habitat output and revealed strong associations between modeled habitat conditions and young lake sturgeon presence. An abundance of suitable habitat for young lake sturgeon within the North Channel of the SCR suggests that lack of suitable spawning habitat or high mortality early in life limits recruitment success in this system.

scholarly journals β-ionone activates and bleaches visual pigment in salamander photoreceptors

2009 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
TOMOKI ISAYAMA ◽  
S.L. McCABE ENGLAND ◽  
R.K. CROUCH ◽  
A.L. ZIMMERMAN ◽  
C.L. MAKINO
Keyword(s):  
Visual Pigment ◽  
Outer Segment ◽  
Binding Pocket ◽  
Visual Pigments ◽  
Rods And Cones ◽  
Cyclic Nucleotide Gated Channels ◽  
Circulating Current ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
Flash Response ◽  
Complete Regeneration

AbstractVision begins with photoisomerization of 11-cis retinal to the all-trans conformation within the chromophore-binding pocket of opsin, leading to activation of a biochemical cascade. Release of all-trans retinal from the binding pocket curtails but does not fully quench the ability of opsin to activate transducin. All-trans retinal and some other analogs, such as β-ionone, enhance opsin’s activity, presumably on binding the empty chromophore-binding pocket. By recording from isolated salamander photoreceptors and from patches of rod outer segment membrane, we now show that high concentrations of β-ionone suppressed circulating current in dark-adapted green-sensitive rods by inhibiting the cyclic nucleotide-gated channels. There were also decreases in circulating current and flash sensitivity, and accelerated flash response kinetics in dark-adapted blue-sensitive (BS) rods and cones, and in ultraviolet-sensitive cones, at concentrations too low to inhibit the channels. These effects persisted in BS rods even after incubation with 9-cis retinal to ensure complete regeneration of their visual pigment. After long exposures to high concentrations of β-ionone, recovery was incomplete unless 9-cis retinal was given, indicating that visual pigment had been bleached. Therefore, we propose that β-ionone activates and bleaches some types of visual pigments, mimicking the effects of light.

Habitat used by juvenile lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) in the North Channel of the St. Clair River (Michigan, USA)

2014 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 81-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
James C. Boase ◽  
Bruce A. Manny ◽  
Katherine A.L. Donald ◽  
Gregory W. Kennedy ◽  
James S. Diana ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lake Sturgeon ◽  
Acipenser Fulvescens ◽  
The North

scholarly journals Response in Growth, Scute Development, and Whole-Body Ion Composition of Acipenser fulvescens Reared in Water of Differing Chemistries

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1419
Author(s):  
Janet Genz ◽  
Rachael Hicks
Keyword(s):  
River Water ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
Lake Sturgeon ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Acipenser Fulvescens ◽  
Water Type ◽  
Ion Composition ◽  
Ion Concentrations ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Yolk Absorption

In fishes, environmental ion availability can have substantial effects on growth and development. This study examined the development of Lake Sturgeon in response to the varying environmental ion availability that they experience as part of a conservation stocking program. We reared sturgeon in natural water from the Coosa River, which had higher concentrations of Mg2+, Na+, and Zn2+ than standard hatchery conditions, while [Ca2+] at the Warm Springs National Fish Hatchery was 2× higher than in the Coosa River. Eggs were hatched in each water type and the larvae were sampled at time points before and after yolk absorption during the first 8 weeks of development. Total length and weight in WSNFH larvae were significantly higher than larvae in Coosa River water starting at 8 dph, indicating that growth was dependent on the different environmental ion levels. Concentrations of the ions of interest were also determined for whole-body acid digests of the exposed Lake Sturgeon. We found that Lake Sturgeon reared in Coosa River water had significantly higher magnesium and zinc than Lake Sturgeon reared in WSNFH water (p < 0.05), while calcium was significantly higher in WSNFH than Coosa River water. This difference shows that different environmental ion concentrations also impact the overall development of larval Lake Sturgeon.

scholarly journals The diversity of opsins in Lake Baikal amphipods (Amphipoda: Gammaridae)

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Polina Drozdova ◽  
Alena Kizenko ◽  
Alexandra Saranchina ◽  
Anton Gurkov ◽  
Maria Firulyova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lake Baikal ◽  
Visual Pigments ◽  
Ancient Lake ◽  
Climate History ◽  
Habitat Depth ◽  
Long Wavelength ◽  
Evolutionary Scenario ◽  
Evolutionary Changes ◽  
Evolutionary Success ◽  
Multiple Species

Abstract Background Vision is a crucial sense for the evolutionary success of many animal groups. Here we explore the diversity of visual pigments (opsins) in the transcriptomes of amphipods (Crustacea: Amphipoda) and conclude that it is restricted to middle (MWS) and long wavelength-sensitive (LWS) opsins in the overwhelming majority of examined species. Results We evidenced (i) parallel loss of MWS opsin expression in multiple species (including two independently evolved lineages from the deep and ancient Lake Baikal) and (ii) LWS opsin amplification (up to five transcripts) in both Baikal lineages. The number of LWS opsins negatively correlated with habitat depth in Baikal amphipods. Some LWS opsins in Baikal amphipods contained MWS-like substitutions, suggesting that they might have undergone spectral tuning. Conclusions This repeating two-step evolutionary scenario suggests common triggers, possibly the lack of light during the periods when Baikal was permanently covered with thick ice and its subsequent melting. Overall, this observation demonstrates the possibility of revealing climate history by following the evolutionary changes in protein families.

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