Can invertebrates see the e-vector of polarization as a separate modality of light?

The visual world is rich in linearly polarized light stimuli, which are hidden from the human eye. But many invertebrate species make use of polarized light as a source of valuable visual information. However, exploiting light polarization does not necessarily imply that the electric (e)-vector orientation of polarized light can be perceived as a separate modality of light. In this Review, I address the question of whether invertebrates can detect specific e-vector orientations in a manner similar to that of humans perceiving spectral stimuli as specific hues. To analyze e-vector orientation, the signals of at least three polarization-sensitive sensors (analyzer channels) with different e-vector tuning axes must be compared. The object-based, imaging polarization vision systems of cephalopods and crustaceans, as well as the water-surface detectors of flying backswimmers, use just two analyzer channels. Although this excludes the perception of specific e-vector orientations, a two-channel system does provide a coarse, categoric analysis of polarized light stimuli, comparable to the limited color sense of dichromatic, 'color-blind' humans. The celestial compass of insects employs three or more analyzer channels. However, that compass is multimodal, i.e. e-vector information merges with directional information from other celestial cues, such as the solar azimuth and the spectral gradient in the sky, masking e-vector information. It seems that invertebrate organisms take no interest in the polarization details of visual stimuli, but polarization vision grants more practical benefits, such as improved object detection and visual communication for cephalopods and crustaceans, compass readings to traveling insects, or the alert 'water below!' to water-seeking bugs.

Anatomical Reconstruction and Functional Imaging Reveal an Ordered Array of Skylight Polarization Detectors in Drosophila.

UNLABELLED: Many insects exploit skylight polarization as a compass cue for orientation and navigation. In the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, photoreceptors R7 and R8 in the dorsal rim area (DRA) of the compound eye are specialized to detect the electric vector (e-vector) of linearly polarized light. These photoreceptors are arranged in stacked pairs with identical fields of view and spectral sensitivities, but mutually orthogonal microvillar orientations. As in larger flies, we found that the microvillar orientation of the distal photoreceptor R7 changes in a fan-like fashion along the DRA. This anatomical arrangement suggests that the DRA constitutes a detector for skylight polarization, in which different e-vectors maximally excite different positions in the array. To test our hypothesis, we measured responses to polarized light of varying e-vector angles in the terminals of R7/8 cells using genetically encoded calcium indicators. Our data confirm a progression of preferred e-vector angles from anterior to posterior in the DRA, and a strict orthogonality between the e-vector preferences of paired R7/8 cells. We observed decreased activity in photoreceptors in response to flashes of light polarized orthogonally to their preferred e-vector angle, suggesting reciprocal inhibition between photoreceptors in the same medullar column, which may serve to increase polarization contrast. Together, our results indicate that the polarization-vision system relies on a spatial map of preferred e-vector angles at the earliest stage of sensory processing. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: The fly's visual system is an influential model system for studying neural computation, and much is known about its anatomy, physiology, and development. The circuits underlying motion processing have received the most attention, but researchers are increasingly investigating other functions, such as color perception and object recognition. In this work, we investigate the early neural processing of a somewhat exotic sense, called polarization vision. Because skylight is polarized in an orientation that is rigidly determined by the position of the sun, this cue provides compass information. Behavioral experiments have shown that many species use the polarization pattern in the sky to direct locomotion. Here we describe the input stage of the fly's polarization-vision system.

Genetic dissection of photoreceptor subtype specification by the Drosophila melanogaster zinc finger proteins elbow and no ocelli.

The elbow/no ocelli (elb/noc) complex of Drosophila melanogaster encodes two paralogs of the evolutionarily conserved NET family of zinc finger proteins. These transcriptional repressors share a conserved domain structure, including a single atypical C2H2 zinc finger. In flies, Elb and Noc are important for the development of legs, eyes and tracheae. Vertebrate NET proteins play an important role in the developing nervous system, and mutations in the homolog ZNF703 human promote luminal breast cancer. However, their interaction with transcriptional regulators is incompletely understood. Here we show that loss of both Elb and Noc causes mis-specification of polarization-sensitive photoreceptors in the 'dorsal rim area' (DRA) of the fly retina. This phenotype is identical to the loss of the homeodomain transcription factor Homothorax (Hth)/dMeis. Development of DRA ommatidia and expression of Hth are induced by the Wingless/Wnt pathway. Our data suggest that Elb/Noc genetically interact with Hth, and we identify two conserved domains crucial for this function. Furthermore, we show that Elb/Noc specifically interact with the transcription factor Orthodenticle (Otd)/Otx, a crucial regulator of rhodopsin gene transcription. Interestingly, different Elb/Noc domains are required to antagonize Otd functions in transcriptional activation, versus transcriptional repression. We propose that similar interactions between vertebrate NET proteins and Meis and Otx factors might play a role in development and disease.

Opsin evolution and expression in arthropod compound eyes and ocelli: insights from the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus.

BACKGROUND: Opsins are key proteins in animal photoreception. Together with a light-sensitive group, the chromophore, they form visual pigments which initiate the visual transduction cascade when photoactivated. The spectral absorption properties of visual pigments are mainly determined by their opsins, and thus opsins are crucial for understanding the adaptations of animal eyes. Studies on the phylogeny and expression pattern of opsins have received considerable attention, but our knowledge about insect visual opsins is still limited. Up to now, researchers have focused on holometabolous insects, while general conclusions require sampling from a broader range of taxa. We have therefore investigated visual opsins in the ocelli and compound eyes of the two-spotted cricket Gryllus bimaculatus, a hemimetabolous insect. RESULTS: Phylogenetic analyses place all identified cricket sequences within the three main visual opsin clades of insects. We assign three of these opsins to visual pigments found in the compound eyes with peak absorbances in the green (515 nm), blue (445 nm) and UV (332 nm) spectral range. Their expression pattern divides the retina into distinct regions: (1) the polarization-sensitive dorsal rim area with blue- and UV-opsin, (2) a newly-discovered ventral band of ommatidia with blue- and green-opsin and (3) the remainder of the compound eye with UV- and green-opsin. In addition, we provide evidence for two ocellar photopigments with peak absorbances in the green (511 nm) and UV (350 nm) spectral range, and with opsins that differ from those expressed in the compound eyes. CONCLUSIONS: Our data show that cricket eyes are spectrally more specialized than has previously been assumed, suggesting that similar adaptations in other insect species might have been overlooked. The arrangement of spectral receptor types within some ommatidia of the cricket compound eyes differs from the generally accepted pattern found in holometabolous insect taxa and awaits a functional explanation. From the opsin phylogeny, we conclude that gene duplications, which permitted differential opsin expression in insect ocelli and compound eyes, occurred independently in several insect lineages and are recent compared to the origin of the eyes themselves.

Genetic dissection reveals two separate retinal substrates for polarization vision in Drosophila.

BACKGROUND: Linearly polarized light originates from atmospheric scattering or surface reflections and is perceived by insects, spiders, cephalopods, crustaceans, and some vertebrates. Thus, the neural basis underlying how this fundamental quality of light is detected is of broad interest. Morphologically unique, polarization-sensitive ommatidia exist in the dorsal periphery of many insect retinas, forming the dorsal rim area (DRA). However, much less is known about the retinal substrates of behavioral responses to polarized reflections. SUMMARY: Drosophila exhibits polarotactic behavior, spontaneously aligning with the e-vector of linearly polarized light, when stimuli are presented either dorsally or ventrally. By combining behavioral experiments with genetic dissection and ultrastructural analyses, we show that distinct photoreceptors mediate the two behaviors: inner photoreceptors R7+R8 of DRA ommatidia are necessary and sufficient for dorsal polarotaxis, whereas ventral responses are mediated by combinations of outer and inner photoreceptors, both of which manifest previously unknown features that render them polarization sensitive. CONCLUSIONS: Drosophila uses separate retinal pathways for the detection of linearly polarized light emanating from the sky or from shiny surfaces. This work establishes a behavioral paradigm that will enable genetic dissection of the circuits underlying polarization vision.

Polarizing optics in a spider eye.

Many arthropods including insects and spiders exploit skylight polarization for navigation. One of the four eye pairs of the spider Drassodes cupreus is dedicated to detect skylight polarization. These eyes are equipped with a tapetum that strongly plane-polarizes reflected light. This effectively enhances the polarization-sensitivity of the photoreceptors, improving orientation performance. With a multidisciplinary approach, we demonstrate that D. cupreus exploits reflective elements also present in non-polarizing tapetal eyes of other species such as Agelena labyrinthica. By approximately orthogonal arrangement of two multilayer reflectors consisting of reflecting guanine platelets, the tapetum uses the mechanism of polarization by reflection for polarizing reflected light.

Specialized ommatidia of the polarization-sensitive dorsal rim area in the eye of monarch butterflies have non-functional reflecting tapeta.

Many insects exploit sky light polarization for navigation or cruising-course control. The detection of polarized sky light is mediated by the ommatidia of a small specialized part of the compound eye: the dorsal rim area (DRA). We describe the morphology and fine structure of the DRA in monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus). The DRA consists of approximately 100 ommatidia forming a narrow ribbon along the dorsal eye margin. Each ommatidium contains two types of photoreceptor with mutually orthogonal microvilli orientations occurring in a 2:6 ratio. Within each rhabdomere, the microvilli are well aligned. Rhabdom structure and orientation remain constant at all retinal levels, but the rhabdom profiles, as seen in tangential sections through the DRA, change their orientations in a fan-like fashion from the frontal to the caudal end of the DRA. Whereas these properties (two microvillar orientations per rhabdom, microvillar alignment along rhabdomeres, ommatidial fan array) are typical for insect DRAs in general, we also report and discuss here a novel feature. The ommatidia of monarch butterflies are equipped with reflecting tapeta, which are directly connected to the proximal ends of the rhabdoms. Although tapeta are also present in the DRA, they are separated from the rhabdoms by a space of approximately 55 mum effectively inactivating them. This reduces self-screening effects, keeping polarization sensitivity of all photoreceptors of the DRA ommatidia both high and approximately equal.

Polarized skylight navigation in insects: model and electrophysiology of e-vector coding by neurons in the central complex.

Many insects exploit skylight polarization for visual compass orientation or course control. As found in crickets, the peripheral visual system (optic lobe) contains three types of polarization-sensitive neurons (POL neurons), which are tuned to different ( approximately 60 degrees diverging) e-vector orientations. Thus each e-vector orientation elicits a specific combination of activities among the POL neurons coding any e-vector orientation by just three neural signals. In this study, we hypothesize that in the presumed orientation center of the brain (central complex) e-vector orientation is population-coded by a set of "compass neurons." Using computer modeling, we present a neural network model transforming the signal triplet provided by the POL neurons to compass neuron activities coding e-vector orientation by a population code. Using intracellular electrophysiology and cell marking, we present evidence that neurons with the response profile of the presumed compass neurons do indeed exist in the insect brain: each of these compass neuron-like (CNL) cells is activated by a specific e-vector orientation only and otherwise remains silent. Morphologically, CNL cells are tangential neurons extending from the lateral accessory lobe to the lower division of the central body. Surpassing the modeled compass neurons in performance, CNL cells are insensitive to the degree of polarization of the stimulus between 99% and at least down to 18% polarization and thus largely disregard variations of skylight polarization due to changing solar elevations or atmospheric conditions. This suggests that the polarization vision system includes a gain control circuit keeping the output activity at a constant level.

Haze, clouds and limited sky visibility: polarotactic orientation of crickets under difficult stimulus conditions.

Field crickets (Gryllus campestris L.) are able to detect the orientation of the electric vector (e-vector) of linearly polarized light. They presumably use this sense to exploit the celestial polarization pattern for course control or navigation. Polarization vision in crickets can be tested by eliciting a spontaneous polarotactic response. Previously, wide and 100% polarized stimuli were employed to induce this behavior. However, field crickets live on meadows where the observation of the sky is strongly limited by surrounding vegetation. Moreover, degrees of polarization (d) in the natural sky are much lower than 100%. We have therefore investigated thresholds for the behavioral response to polarized light under conditions mimicking those experienced by the insects in the field. We show that crickets are able to rely on polarized stimuli of just 1 degrees diameter. We also provide evidence that they exploit polarization down to an (average) polarization level of less than 7%, irrespective of whether the stimulus is homogeneous, such as under haze, or patched, such as a sky spotted by clouds. Our data demonstrate that crickets can rely on skylight polarization even under unfavorable celestial conditions, emphasizing the significance of polarized skylight orientation for insects.

Nyctalopin is essential for synaptic transmission in the cone dominated zebrafish retina.

The first synapse in the vertebrate visual system is the photoreceptor synapse between rod and cone photoreceptors and the second-order bipolar cells. Although mutations in the nyctalopin gene (NYX) in humans lead to congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB1), affecting synaptic transmission between both types of photoreceptors and ON-bipolar cells, the function of nyctalopin in cone-dominant animal models has not been studied. Because the larval zebrafish retina is cone-dominant, we isolated the zebrafish nyx ortholog and raised a polyclonal antibody against the protein. Nyctalopin is expressed postsynaptically in both synaptic layers of the retina. Functional disruption via morpholino antisense injection leads to characteristic defects in the electroretinogram and defects in visual contrast sensitivity. We therefore demonstrated that nyctalopin plays a similar role in retinal synapse function in the cone pathway as in the rod pathway, thereby creating a genetic model for CSNB1 and its effects on cone vision.

Physiological characterization of the compound eye in monarch butterflies with focus on the dorsal rim area.

The spectral, angular and polarization sensitivities of photoreceptors in the compound eye of the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) are examined using electrophysiological methods. Intracellular recordings reveal a spectrally homogenous population of UV receptors with optical axes directed upwards and >or=10 degrees to the contralateral side. Based on optical considerations and on the opsin expression pattern (Sauman et al. 2005), we conclude that these UV receptors belong to the anatomically specialized dorsal rim area (DRA) of the eye. Photoreceptors in the main retina with optical axes <10 degrees contralateral or ipsilateral have maximal sensitivities in the UV (lambda(max)

Do monarch butterflies use polarized skylight for migratory orientation?

To test if migratory monarch butterflies use polarized light patterns as part of their time-compensated sun compass, we recorded their virtual flight paths in a flight simulator while the butterflies were exposed to patches of naturally polarized blue sky, artificial polarizers or a sunny sky. In addition, we tested butterflies with and without the polarized light detectors of their compound eye being occluded. The monarchs' orientation responses suggested that the butterflies did not use the polarized light patterns as a compass cue, nor did they exhibit a specific alignment response towards the axis of polarized light. When given direct view of the sun, migratory monarchs with their polarized light detectors painted out were still able to use their time-compensated compass: non-clockshifted butterflies, with their dorsal rim area occluded, oriented in their typical south-southwesterly migratory direction. Furthermore, they shifted their flight course clockwise by the predicted approximately 90 degrees after being advance clockshifted 6 h. We conclude that in migratory monarch butterflies, polarized light cues are not necessary for a time-compensated celestial compass to work and that the azimuthal position of the sun disc and/or the associated light-intensity and spectral gradients seem to be the migrants' major compass cue.

Homothorax switches function of Drosophila photoreceptors from color to polarized light sensors.

Different classes of photoreceptors (PRs) allow animals to perceive various types of visual information. In the Drosophila eye, the outer PRs of each ommatidium are involved in motion detection while the inner PRs mediate color vision. In addition, flies use a specialized class of inner PRs in the "dorsal rim area" of the eye (DRA) to detect the e-vector of polarized light, allowing them to exploit skylight polarization for orientation. We show that homothorax is both necessary and sufficient for inner PRs to adopt the polarization-sensitive DRA fate instead of the color-sensitive default state. Homothorax increases rhabdomere size and uncouples R7-R8 communication to allow both cells to express the same opsin rather than different ones as required for color vision. Homothorax expression is induced by the iroquois complex and the wingless (wg) pathway. However, crucial wg pathway components are not required, suggesting that additional signals are involved.

Neural mechanisms in insect navigation: polarization compass and odometer.

Insect navigation relies on path integration, a procedure by which information about compass bearings pursued and distances travelled are combined to calculate position. Three neural levels of the polarization compass, which uses the polarization of skylight as a reference, have been analyzed in orthopteran insects. A group of dorsally directed, highly specialized ommatidia serve as polarization sensors. Polarization-opponent neurons in the optic lobe condition the polarization signal by removing unreliable and irrelevant components of the celestial stimulus. Neurons found in the central complex of the brain possibly represent elements of the compass output. The odometer for measuring travelling distances in honeybees relies on optic flow experienced during flight, whereas desert ants most probably use proprioreceptive cues.

Does reflection polarization by plants influence colour perception in insects? Polarimetric measurements applied to a polarization-sensitive model retina of Papilio butterflies.

Using imaging polarimetry, we have measured some typical reflection-polarization patterns of plant surfaces (leaves and flowers) under different illuminations. Using a quantitative model to determine photon absorptions in the weakly polarization-sensitive (PS approximately 2) photoreceptors of Papilio butterflies, we have calculated the influence of reflection polarization on the colours of leaves and flowers perceived by PAPILIO: Compared with a retina containing polarization-blind colour receptors, the colour loci of specularly reflecting and, thus, strongly polarizing areas on a plant are slightly shifted, which could cause the perception of false colours. However, the colour of specularly reflecting surfaces is strongly masked by white glare, which may prevent the perception of polarization-induced hue shifts. Although the perception of polarizational false colours by Papilio butterflies was previously demonstrated with artificial, strongly colour-saturated and totally linearly polarized stimuli, we expect that the weak polarization sensitivity of Papilio photoreceptors hardly influences colour perception under natural conditions.