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Sensitivity of cones from a cyprinid fish (Danio aequipinnatus) to ultraviolet and visible light

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 June 2009

Adrian G. Palacios ,
Timothy H. Goldsmith  and
Gary D. Bernard
Adrian G. Palacios
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Yale University, New Haven
Timothy H. Goldsmith
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Yale University, New Haven
Gary D. Bernard
Affiliation:
Boeing Commercial Airplane Group, Seattle
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Abstract

Photocurrents of cones in the retinas of a small fish, Danio aequipinnatus (Cyprinidae) were recorded with suction pipette electrodes. Spectral sensitivity was measured between 277 and 697 nm. Four spectral classes of cone were found, with λmax at 560, 480, 408, and 358 nm. For the latter, we provide the first complete characterization of spectral sensitivity of a vertebrate ultraviolet (UV) photoreceptor. All cones responded with similar kinetics, except for a subset of the 560-nm cones, which were distinctly faster. The a-bands of the three cones absorbing maximally in the visible have the same bandwidth when log sensitivity is plotted versus normalized frequency, and in this respect they are indistinguishable from primate cones (“Mansfield's rule’). An eighth-degree polynomial in λmax/λ based on this combined data set (fish, primate) is presented as a template that is likely to have predictive value in describing cone spectra from other vertebrates. The α−band of the UV cone, however, is somewhat narrower than predicted by this function, is similar to other UV visual pigments, and an eighth-degree polynomial that describes its shape is also presented. These measurements also provide information on the β−band (i.e. cis peak region), difficult to obtain by microspectrophotometry. The β−band of cone pigments is found at longer wavelengths as the α−band shifts toward the red. A secondary rise in cone sensitivity around 280 nm indicates that photons absorbed by aromatic amino acids in the opsin (γ−band) excite the transduction cascade, but the quantum efficiency is not as high as when absorption occurs in the retinal-protein chromophore.

Keywords

UV conesCone spectral sensitivityVisual pigment templatesIntramolecular energy transfer in visual pigments
Type
Research Articles
Information
Visual Neuroscience , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , May 1996 , pp. 411 - 421
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1996

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