In the cephalopod retina, light/dark adaptation is accompanied by
a decrease/increase in rhabdom size and redistribution of rhodopsin
and retinochrome. Rearrangements in the actin cytoskeleton probably govern
changes in rhabdom size by regulating the degradation/formation of
rhabdomere microvilli. Photopigment movements may be directed by
microtubules present in the outer segment core cytoplasm. We believe that
rhodopsin activation by light stimulates Rho and Rac signaling pathways,
affecting these cytoskeletal systems and their possible functions in
controlling rhabdom morphology and protein movements. In this study, we
localized cytoskeletal and signaling proteins in octopus photoreceptors to
determine their concurrence between the lighting conditions. We used toxin
B from Clostridium difficile to inhibit the activity of
Rho/Rac and observed its effect on the location of signaling proteins
and actin and tubulin. In both lighting conditions, we found Rho in
specific sets of juxtaposed rhabdomeres in embryonic and adult retinas. In
the light, Rho and actin were localized along the length of the
rhabdomere, but, in the dark, both proteins were absent from a space
beneath the inner limiting membrane. Rac colocalized with tubulin in the
outer segment core cytoplasm and, like Rho, the two proteins were also
absent beneath the inner limiting membrane in the dark. The distribution
of actin and Rho was affected by toxin B and, in dark-adapted retinas,
actin and Rho distribution was similar to that observed in the light. Our
results suggest that the Rho/Rac GTPases are candidates for the
regulation of rhabdomere size and protein movements in light-dark-adapted
octopus photoreceptors.