The visual pigments of wild white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus)

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 805-809 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Sillman ◽  
M. E. Sorsky ◽  
E. R. Loew
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin A ◽  
Fresh Water ◽  
Visual Pigment ◽  
Visual Pigments ◽  
White Sturgeon ◽  
Acipenser Transmontanus ◽  
Estuarine Water ◽  
Cone Pigments ◽  
Partial Bleaching

The visual pigments of the anadromous white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) taken from relatively saline estuarine water were characterized by means of in situ microspectrophotometry and partial bleaching analysis of a digitonin extract. The three cone pigments (λmax = 605, 539, and ca. 460 nm) and one rod pigment (λmax = 541 nm) of the wild sturgeon are the same as those of cultured sturgeon that spend their entire lives in fresh water. All the visual pigments incorporate a chromophore based on vitamin A2. Unlike other anadromous fishes during the "saline phase," the white sturgeon shows no evidence of the presence of any vitamin A1 based visual pigment in the retina.

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.

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.

A STUDY OF THE SUCCESSION OF VISUAL PIGMENTS IN PACIFIC SALMON (ONCORHYNCHUS)

1966 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 429-455 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. D. Beatty
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin A ◽  
Sockeye Salmon ◽  
Pacific Salmon ◽  
Progressive Increase ◽  
Visual Pigments ◽  
Antimony Trichloride ◽  
The Other ◽  
Simple Function ◽  
Partial Bleaching ◽  
Colorimetric Reaction

Retinae of Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus) have mixtures of two visual pigments, one a retinene1 (VP 5031) and the other a retinene2 pigment (VP 5272). Retinal extracts were prepared from individuals of five species collected at different times of the year. These extracts were subjected to partial bleaching experiments to determine the proportions of the two visual pigments. Liver extracts were prepared and the percentages of vitamin A1 and vitamin A2 were estimated in these extracts by means of the Carr-Price (antimony trichloride) colorimetric reaction. There was a progressive increase in the percentage of VP 5272 in retinae of adult coho, king, pink, chum, and sockeye salmon during the spawning migration. Except for the sockeye salmon, this increase resulted in a conversion from a retina having predominantly VP 5031 to one having a preponderance of VP 5272- Juvenile coho and king salmon exhibited changes in the proportions of the two visual pigments during the year, but similar changes did not occur in juvenile sockeye salmon. The percentage of VP 5272 in the retina is not a simple function of the proportion of vitamin A2 in the liver; however, there was an increase in the percentage of vitamin A2 in the liver of adult salmon which accompanied the increase in the proportion of VP 5272.

scholarly journals Visual Pigments of Goldfish Cones

1974 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 279-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferenc I. Hárosi ◽  
Edward F. MacNichol
Keyword(s):  
Absorption Band ◽  
Oscillator Strength ◽  
Optical Density ◽  
Visual Pigment ◽  
Visual Pigments ◽  
Main Absorption Band ◽  
Dichroic Ratio ◽  
Outer Segments ◽  
Retinal Photoreceptors ◽  
Cone Pigments

Freshly isolated retinal photoreceptors of goldfish were studied microspectrophotometrically. Absolute absorptance spectra obtained from dark-adapted cone outer segments reaffirm the existence of three spectrally distinct cone types with absorption maxima at 455 ± 3,530 ± 3, and 625 ± 5 nm. These types were found often recognizable by gross cellular morphology. Side-illuminated cone outer segments were dichroic. The measured dichroic ratio for the main absorption band of each type was 2–3:1. Rapidly bleached cells revealed spectral and dichroic transitions in regions near 400–410, 435–455, and 350–360 nm. These photoproducts decay about fivefold as fast as the intermediates in frog rods. The spectral maxima of photoproducts, combined with other evidence, indicate that retinene2 is the chromophore of all three cone pigments. The average specific optical density for goldfish cone outer segments was found to be 0.0124 ± 0.0015/µm. The spectra of the blue-, and green-absorbing cones appeared to match porphyropsin standards with half-band width Δν = 4,832 ± 100 cm–1. The red-absorbing spectrum was found narrower, having Δν = 3,625 ± 100 cm–1. The results are consistent with the notion that visual pigment concentration within the outer segments is about the same for frog rods and goldfish cones, but that the blue-, and green-absorbing pigments possess molar extinctions of 30,000 liter/mol cm. The red-absorbing pigment was found to have extinction of 40,000 liter/mol cm, assuming invariance of oscillator strength among the three cone spectra.

scholarly journals In search of the visual pigment template

2000 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 509-528 ◽  
Author(s):  
VICTOR I. GOVARDOVSKII ◽  
NANNA FYHRQUIST ◽  
TOM REUTER ◽  
DMITRY G. KUZMIN ◽  
KRISTIAN DONNER
Keyword(s):  
Visual Pigment ◽  
Good Description ◽  
Visual Pigments ◽  
Rod Outer Segments ◽  
Absorbance Spectrum ◽  
Outer Segments ◽  
Bovine Rhodopsin ◽  
Α Band ◽  
Absorbance Spectra

Absorbance spectra were recorded by microspectrophotometry from 39 different rod and cone types representing amphibians, reptiles, and fishes, with A1- or A2-based visual pigments and λmax ranging from 357 to 620 nm. The purpose was to investigate accuracy limits of putative universal templates for visual pigment absorbance spectra, and if possible to amend the templates to overcome the limitations. It was found that (1) the absorbance spectrum of frog rhodopsin extract very precisely parallels that of rod outer segments from the same individual, with only a slight hypsochromic shift in λmax, hence templates based on extracts are valid for absorbance in situ; (2) a template based on the bovine rhodopsin extract data of Partridge and De Grip (1991) describes the absorbance of amphibian rod outer segments excellently, contrary to recent electrophysiological results; (3) the λmax/λ invariance of spectral shape fails for A1 pigments with small λmax and for A2 pigments with large λmax, but the deviations are systematic and can be readily incorporated into, for example, the Lamb (1995) template. We thus propose modified templates for the main “α-band” of A1 and A2 pigments and show that these describe both absorbance and spectral sensitivities of photoreceptors over the whole range of λmax. Subtraction of the α-band from the full absorbance spectrum leaves a “β-band” described by a λmax-dependent Gaussian. We conclude that the idea of universal templates (one for A1- and one for A2-based visual pigments) remains valid and useful at the present level of accuracy of data on photoreceptor absorbance and sensitivity. The sum of our expressions for the α- and β-band gives a good description for visual pigment spectra with λmax > 350 nm.

Visual Pigments in a Tropical Freshwater Fish Etroplus Maculatus (Teleostei)

1967 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-311
Author(s):  
V. VIRABHADRACHARI ◽  
R. V. KRISHNAMOORTHY ◽  
V. PARVATHESWARARAO
Keyword(s):  
Freshwater Fish ◽  
Fresh Water ◽  
Visual Pigment ◽  
Sea Water ◽  
Natural Habitat ◽  
Visual Pigments ◽  
Pigment System ◽  
Transitory Phase ◽  
Tropical Freshwater

1. In its natural habitat (fresh water) E. maculatus had VP 5152 (porphyropsin) as the predominant visual pigment. 2. On acclimation to 100% sea water VP 4951 (rhodopsin) was found to be predominant. 3. On acclimation to 50% sea water the visual pigment system of the fish presented a transitory phase. 4. The significance and implications of these results in relation to the earlier work is discussed.

The Organ Specific Action of Thyroxin in Visual Pigment Differentiation

Development ◽  
1959 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 556-563
Author(s):  
Fred H. Wilt
Keyword(s):  
Double Bond ◽  
Vitamin A ◽  
Visual Pigment ◽  
Rana Catesbeiana ◽  
Visual Pigments ◽  
Essential Difference ◽  
Phylogenetic Distribution ◽  
Chromophore Group ◽  
Vitamin A Metabolism ◽  
Organ Specific

In the course of his studies on the phylogenetic distribution of the retinal photopigments, Wald (1942, 1946, 1947) observed that the visual pigment of larvae of Rana catesbeiana changed from porphyropsin to rhodopsin during metamorphosis. The essential difference between the two visual pigments, which are conjugated proteins, is in the chromophore group, vitamin A aldehyde (or retinene). Vitamin A-2 aldehyde is the chromophore of porphyropsin; vitamin A-l aldehyde, which has one less double bond in its beta ionone ring, is the chromophore of rhodopsin (reviewed by Dartnall, 1958). The phenomenon of visual pigment conversion during metamorphosis has recently been examined in detail by Wilt (1959). His findings confirmed Wald's earlier report fully; furthermore, it was demonstrated that administration of thyroxin to premetamorphic animals stimulated photopigment conversion. Other evidence was presented supporting the hypothesis that thyroxin, or its physiologically active derivative, effects a change in vitamin A metabolism which results in a change in the type of chromophore on the visual protein.

scholarly journals Ultraviolet and violet receptors express identical mRNA encoding an ultraviolet-absorbing opsin: identification and histological localization of two mRNAs encoding short-wavelength-absorbing opsins in the retina of the butterfly Papilio xuthus

2000 ◽  
Vol 203 (19) ◽  
pp. 2887-2894 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Kitamoto ◽  
K. Ozaki ◽  
K. Arikawa
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Visual Pigment ◽  
Short Wavelength ◽  
Photoreceptor Cells ◽  
Visual Pigments ◽  
Amino Acid Sequences ◽  
Papilio Xuthus ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Identical Amino Acid Sequence

This paper describes the primary structures of two opsins of short-wavelength-absorbing visual pigments deduced from the mRNA sequences in the retina of the Japanese yellow swallowtail butterfly Papilio xuthus. A phylogenetic analysis of the amino acid sequences indicates that one of these visual pigments is of the ultraviolet-absorbing type and that the other is of the blue-absorbing type. We identified the photoreceptor cells that express these mRNAs by histological in situ hybridization. The mRNA of the ultraviolet type is expressed in two distinct photoreceptor types previously identified as ultraviolet and violet receptors, providing the first molecular biological evidence that different types of spectral receptor probably express a visual pigment with an identical amino acid sequence. The mRNA of the blue type is expressed exclusively in cells classified as blue receptors.

Molecular properties of rod and cone visual pigments from purified chicken cone pigments to mouse rhodopsin in situ

2005 ◽  
Vol 4 (9) ◽  
pp. 667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroo Imai ◽  
Shigeki Kuwayama ◽  
Akishi Onishi ◽  
Takefumi Morizumi ◽  
Osamu Chisaka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Pigments ◽  
Molecular Properties ◽  
Cone Pigments
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