Summary
In the compound eye of the moth Antheraea polyphemus, three types of visual pigments were found in extracts from the retina and by microspectrophotometry in situ. The absorption maxima of the receptor pigment P and the metarhodopsin M are at (1) P 520–530 nm, M 480–490 nm; (2) P 460–480 nm, M 530–540 nm; (3) P 330–340 nm, M 460–470 nm. Their localization was investigated by electron microscopy on eyes illuminated with different monochromatic lights. Within the tiered rhabdom, constituted of the rhabdomeres of nine visual cells, the basal cell contains a blue-and the six medial cells have a greenabsorbing pigment. The two distal cells of most ommatidia also have the blue pigment; only in the dorsal region of the eye, these cells contain a UV-absorbing pigment, which constitutes a portion of only ∼ 5% of the visual pigment content within the entire retina. The functional significance of this distribution is discussed.
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Langer, H., Schmeinck, G. & Anton-Erxleben, F. Identification and localization of visual pigments in the retina of the moth, Antheraea polyphemus (Insecta, Saturniidae). Cell Tissue Res. 245, 81–89 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00218089
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00218089