Evidence for a rhodopsin-retinochrome photosensitive system in chromatophores of the squid, Loligo pealeii
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1
University of Maryland Baltimore County, Biological Sciences, United States
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2
Marine Biological Laboratory, Marine Resources Center, United States
Cephalopods, including squid, cuttlefish, and octopus, are hypothesized to have extraocular photoreceptors located in their skin. These putative photoreceptors are thought to detect light using an opsin-based photoreception system. In photoreceptors of the retina, an opsin protein is bound to a retinal chromophore to form a functional photopigment, and retinochrome acts as a photoisomerase, recycling the chromophore. The presence of opsin and retinochrome in close proximity suggests the presence of a functional photoreceptor. My work focuses on detecting opsin and retinochrome in putative extraocular photoreceptors in the skin of the longfin squid, Loligo pealeii. We searched for opsin and retinochrome in the skin and retinas of L. pealeii using RT-PCR. Opsin was detected in the retina, ventral mantle, ventral fin surface, 1st arm, 2nd arm, 3rd arm, 4th arm, tentacle and muscle tissue of L. pealeii. Retinochrome was detected in all these locations as well as the dorsal mantle and dorsal fin surface. Identical opsin and retinochrome transcripts were also detected in dissociated chromatophores from several locations. Future work will include in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry to determine in what cells opsin and retinochrome transcripts and proteins are expressed.
Keywords:
chromatophore,
retinochrome,
Rhodopsin
Conference:
Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology, College Park. Maryland USA, United States, 5 Aug - 10 Aug, 2012.
Presentation Type:
Poster (but consider for participant symposium and student poster award)
Topic:
Sensory: Vision
Citation:
Kingston
A,
Bell
G,
Kuzirian
AM,
Hanlon
RT and
Cronin
TW
(2012). Evidence for a rhodopsin-retinochrome photosensitive system in chromatophores of the squid, Loligo pealeii.
Conference Abstract:
Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnbeh.2012.27.00169
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Received:
27 Apr 2012;
Published Online:
07 Jul 2012.
*
Correspondence:
Ms. Alexandra Kingston, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Biological Sciences, Baltimore, MD, 21250, United States, acnahm@gmail.com