Visual pigments in a palaeognath bird, the emu Dromaius novaehollandiae: implications for spectral sensitivity and the origin of ultraviolet vision.
Proc Biol Sci
; 283(1834)2016 07 13.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-27383819
ABSTRACT
A comprehensive description of the spectral characteristics of retinal photoreceptors in palaeognaths is lacking. Moreover, controversy exists with respect to the spectral sensitivity of the short-wavelength-sensitive-1 (SWS1) opsin-based visual pigment expressed in one type of single cone previous microspectrophotometric (MSP) measurements in the ostrich (Struthio camelus) suggested a violet-sensitive (VS) SWS1 pigment, but all palaeognath SWS1 opsin sequences obtained to date (including the ostrich) imply that the visual pigment is ultraviolet-sensitive (UVS). In this study, MSP was used to measure the spectral properties of visual pigments and oil droplets in the retinal photoreceptors of the emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae). Results show that the emu resembles most other bird species in possessing four spectrally distinct single cones, as well as double cones and rods. Four cone and a single rod opsin are expressed, each an orthologue of a previously identified pigment. The SWS1 pigment is clearly UVS (wavelength of maximum absorbance [λmax] = 376 nm), with key tuning sites (Phe86 and Cys90) consistent with other vertebrate UVS SWS1 pigments. Palaeognaths would appear, therefore, to have UVS SWS1 pigments. As they are considered to be basal in avian evolution, this suggests that UVS is the most likely ancestral state for birds. The functional significance of a dedicated UVS cone type in the emu is discussed.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Retinal Pigments
/
Vision, Ocular
/
Retinal Cone Photoreceptor Cells
/
Dromaiidae
/
Opsins
Type of study:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
Proc Biol Sci
Journal subject:
BIOLOGIA
Year:
2016
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Australia