Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T13:04:01.408Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Light-evoked contraction of red absorbing cones in the Xenopus retina is maximally sensitive to green light

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2009

Joseph C. Besharse  and
Paul Witkovsky
Joseph C. Besharse
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City
Paul Witkovsky
Affiliation:
Departments of Ophthalmology and Physiology and Biophysics, New York University School of Medicine, New York
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

To test the hypothesis that light-evoked cone contraction in eye cups from Xenopus laevis is controlled through a direct mechanism initiated by the cone's own photopigment, we conducted spectral-sensitivity experiments. We estimate that initiation of contraction of red absorbing cones (611 nm) is 1.5 log units more sensitive to green (533 nm) than red (650 nm) light stimuli. The difference is comparable to that predicted from the spectral-sensitivity function of the green absorbing, principal rod (523 nm). Furthermore, 480-nm and 580-nm stimuli which are absorbed nearly equally by the principal rod have indistinguishable effects on cone contraction. We also found that light blockade of nighttime cone elongation is much more sensitive to green than to red light stimuli. Our observations are inconsistent with the hypothesis tested, and suggest that light-regulated cone motility is controlled through an indirect mechanism initiated primarily by the green absorbing, principal rod.

Keywords

PhotoreceptorsRetinomotor movementDopamineSpectral sensitivity
Type
Research Articles
Information
Visual Neuroscience , Volume 8 , Issue 3 , March 1992 , pp. 243 - 249
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Besharse, J.C. (1992). The “ON”-bipolar agonist, L-2-amino-4-phosphonobutyrate, blocks light-evoked cone contraction in Xenopus eye cups. Neurochemical Research 17, 75–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Besharse, J.C. & Dunis, D.A. (1983). Rod photoreceptor disc shedding in eye cups: relationship to bicarbonate and amino acids. Experimental Eye Research 36, 567–580.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Besharse, J.C. & Witkovsky, P. (1988). Light-evoked contraction of red cones in Xenopus eye cups is highly sensitive to green light. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science (Abstract Suppl.) 29, 107.Google Scholar
Besharse, J.C., Terrill, R.O. & Dunis, D.A. (1980). Light-evoked disc shedding by rod photoreceptors in vitro: relationship to medium bicarbonate concentration. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 19, 1512–1517.Google ScholarPubMed
Besharse, J.C., Dunis, D.A. & Burnside, B. (1982). Effects of cyclic adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate on photoreceptor disc shedding and retinomotor movement. Journal of General Physiology 79, 775–790.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Besharse, J.C., Iuvone, P.M. & Pierce, M.E. (1988). Regulation of rhythmic photoreceptor metabolism: a role for post-receptoral neurons. Progress in Retinal Research 7, 21–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boatrioht, J.H., Hoel, M.J. & Iuvone, P.M. (1989). Stimulation of endogenous dopamine release and metabolism in amphibian retina by light- and K+-evoked depolarization. Brain Research 482, 164–168.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burnside, B. & Dearry, A. (1986). Cell motility in the retina. In The Retina: A Model for Cell Biological Studies, Part I, ed. Adler, D. & Farber, D., pp. 151–206. New York: Academic Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dearry, A. & Burnside, B. (1986). Dopaminergic regulation of cone retinomotor movement in isolated teleost retinas: I. Induction of cone contraction is mediated by D2 receptors. Journal of Neurochemistry 46, 1006–1021.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dearry, A. & Burnside, B. (1989a). Regulation of cell motility in teleost retinal photoreceptors and pigment epithelium by dopaminergic D2 receptors. In Extracellular and Intracellular Messengers, ed. Redburn, D. & Pasantes-Morales, H., pp. 229–256. New York: Alan R. Liss, Inc.Google Scholar
Dearry, A. & Burnside, B. (1989b). Light-induced dopamine release from teleost retinas acts as a light-adaptive signal to the retinal pigment epithelium. Journal of Neurochemistry 53, 870–878.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dearry, A., Edelman, J.L., Miller, S. & Burnside, B. (1990). Dopamine induces light-adaptive retinomotor movements in bullfrog cones via D2 receptors and in retinal pigment epithelium via Dl receptors. Journal of Neurochemistry 54, 1367–1378.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Delean, A., Munson, P.J. & Rodbard, D. (1978). Simultaneous analysis of families of sigmoid curves: application to bioassay, radioligand assay, and physiological dose-response curves. American Journal of Physiology 235, E97–E102.Google ScholarPubMed
Dong, C.-J. & McReynolds, J.S. (1991). The relationship between light, dopamine release and horizontal cell coupling in the mud-puppy retina. Journal of Physiology 440, 291–309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Douglas, R. & Wagner, H.-J. (1984). Action Spectrum Of Photomechanical Cone Contraction In The Catfish Retina. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 25, 534–538.Google ScholarPubMed
Engbretson, G.A. & Witkovsky, P. (1978). Rod sensitivity and visual pigment concentration in Xenopus. Journal of General Physiology 72, 801–819.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gilson, C.A., Ackland, N. & Burnside, B. (1986). Regulation of reactivated elongation in lysed cell models of teleost retinal cones by cAMP and calcium. Journal of Cell Biology 102, 1047–1059.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grigonis, A.M. & Fite, K.V. (1983). Photomechanical responses of visual receptors in the retina of the bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana). Brain, Behavior, and Evolution 22, 212–222.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kirsch, M., Wagner, H.-J. & Douglas, R.H. (1989). Rods trigger light-adaptive retinomotor movements in all spectral cone types of a teleost fish. Vision Research 29, 389–396.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liebman, P.A., Carroll, S. & Laties, A. (1969). Spectral sensitivity of retinal screening pigment migration in the frog. Vision Research 9, 377–384.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Muresan, Z. & Besharse, J.C. (1991). Identification of dopamine D2 receptors in the Xenopus retina by fluorescence microscopy. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science (Abstract Suppl.) 32, 1260.Google Scholar
Pierce, M.E. & Besharse, J.C. (1985). Circadian regulation of retinomotor movements 1. Interaction of melatonin and dopamine in the control of cone length. Journal of General Physiology 86, 671–689.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pierce, M.E. & Besharse, J.C. (1986). Melatonin and dopamine interactions in the regulation of rhythmic photoreceptor metabolism. In Pineal and Retinal Relationships, ed. O'Brien, P.J. & Klein, D.C., pp. 219–237. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Pierce, M.E. & Besharse, J.C. (1987). Melatonin and rhythmic photoreceptor metabolism: melatonin-induced cone elongation is blocked at high light intensity. Brain Research 405, 400–404.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pierce, M.E. & Besharse, J.C. (1988). Circadian regulation of retinomotor movements: II. The role of GABA in the regulation of cone position. Journal of Comparative Neurology 270, 279–287.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Porrello, K. & Burnside, B. (1984). Regulation of reactivated contraction in teleost retinal cone models by calcium and cyclic adenosine monophosphate. Journal of Cell Biology 98, 2230–2238.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Röhlich, P., Szel, A. & Papermaster, D.S. (1989). Immunocytochemical reactivity of Xenopus laevis retinal rods and cones with several monoclonal antibodies to visual pigments. Journal of Comparative Neurology 290, 105–117.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schütte, M. & Witkovsky, P. (1991). Dopaminergic interplexiform cells and centrifugal fibres in the Xenopus retina. Journal of Neurocylology 20, 195–207.Google ScholarPubMed
Slaughter, M.M. & Miller, R.F. (1981). 2-Amino-4-phosphonobutyric acid: a new pharmacological tool for retina research. Science 211, 182–184.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Witkovsky, P. & Shi, X.-P. (1990). Slow light and dark adaptation of horizontal cells in the Xenopus retina: a role for endogenous dopamine. Visual Neuroscience 5, 405–413.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Witkovsky, P. & Dearry, A. (1991). Functional roles of dopamine in the vertebrate retina. Progress in Retinal Research (in press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Witkovsky, P., Levine, J.S., Engbretson, G.A., Hassin, G. & Macnichol, E.F. (1981a). A microspectrophotometric study of normal and artificial visual pigments in the photoreceptors of Xenopus laevis. Vision Research 21, 867–873.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Witkovsky, P., Yang, E.-Y. & Ripps, H. (1981b). Properties of the blue sensitive rod in the Xenopus retina. Vision Research 21, 875–883.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Witkovsky, P., Stone, S. & Besharse, J.C. (1988). Dopamine modifies the balance of rod and cone inputs to horizontal cells of the Xenopus retina. Brain Research 449, 332–336.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Witkovsky, P., Stone, S. & Tranchina, D. (1989). Photoreceptor to horizontal cell synaptic transfer in the Xenopus retina: modulation by dopamine ligands and a circuit model for interactions of rod and cone inputs. Journal of Neurophysiology 62, 864–881.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Witkovsky, P., Rice, M. & Nicholson, C. (1991). High extracellular levels of dopamine in Xenopus retina detected by high speed cyclic voltametry. Society of Neuroscience Abstracts 624, 1565.Google Scholar