Spatial distribution of opsin-encoding mRNAs in the tiered larval retinas of the sunburst diving beetle Thermonectus marmoratus (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae).

ABSTRACT: Larvae of the sunburst diving beetle, Thermonectus marmoratus, have a cluster of six stemmata (E1-6) and one eye patch on each side of the head. Each eye has two retinas: a distal retina that is closer to the lens, and a proximal retina that lies directly underneath. The distal retinas of E1 and E2 are made of a dorsal and a ventral stack of at least twelve photoreceptor layers. Could this arrangement be used to compensate for lens chromatic aberration, with shorter wavelengths detected by the distal layers and longer wavelengths by the proximal layers? To answer this question we molecularly identified opsins and their expression patterns in these eyes. We found three opsin-encoding genes. The distal retinas of all six eyes express long-wavelength opsin (TmLW) mRNA, whereas the proximal re

SUBMITTER: Maksimovic S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2778735 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature