Horsefly object-directed polarotaxis is mediated by a stochastically distributed ommatidial subtype in the ventral retina.

ABSTRACT: The ventral compound eye of many insects contains polarization-sensitive photoreceptors, but little is known about how they are integrated into visual functions. In female horseflies, polarized reflections from animal fur are a key stimulus for host detection. To understand how polarization vision is mediated by the ventral compound eye, we investigated the band-eyed brown horsefly Tabanus bromius using anatomical, physiological, and behavioral approaches. Serial electron microscopic sectioning of the retina and single-cell recordings were used to determine the spectral and polarization sensitivity (PS) of photoreceptors. We found 2 stochastically distributed subtypes of ommatidia, analogous to pale and yellow of other flies. Importantly, the pale analog contains an orthogonal analy

SUBMITTER: Meglic A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6815168 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature