Summary
Except for very special fused rhabdoms, e. g. those with orthogonal microvilli like the worker bee, the direction of the electric vector E of linear polarized light necessary for a maximum response from a retinula cell is not parallel (or perpendicular) to the microvilli of the recorded cell.
This is because the rhabdomeres of a fused rhabdom are optically coupled, i. e. the properties of each rhabdomere influence the manner in which light is transmitted down the composite rhabdom structure.
A rhabdom is analogous to a non-uniform absorbing optical crystal. Such a crystal has two coordinate (optical) axes along which E remains linear polarized as it propagates. Only when the microvilli of the recorded cell are parallel to one of these axes will the direction ofE for maximum retinula cell response be parallel to the microvilli.
The locust-type of rhabdom is used as an example.
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Snyder, A.W., Sammut, R. Direction ofE for maximum response of a retinula cell. J. Comp. Physiol. 85, 37–45 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00694139
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00694139