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- Title
Visual pigment spectra of the comma butterfly,Polygonia c-album, derived from in vivo epi-illumination microspectrophotometry.
- Authors
Vanhoutte, Kurt J. A.; Stavenga, Doekele G.
- Abstract
The visual pigments in the compound eye of the comma butterfly,Polygonia c-album, were investigated in a specially designed epi-illumination microspectrophotometer. Absorption changes due to photochemical conversions of the visual pigments, or due to light-independent visual pigment decay and regeneration, were studied by measuring the eye shine, i.e., the light reflected from the tapetum located in each ommatidium proximal to the visual pigment-bearing rhabdom. The obtained absorbance difference spectra demonstrated the dominant presence of a green visual pigment. The rhodopsin and its metarhodopsin have absorption peak wavelengths at 532 nm and 492 nm, respectively. The metarhodopsin is removed from the rhabdom with a time constant of 15 min and the rhodopsin is regenerated with a time constant of 59 min (room temperature). A UV rhodopsin with metarhodopsin absorbing maximally at 467 nm was revealed, and evidence for a blue rhodopsin was obtained indirectly.
- Subjects
VISUAL pigments; POLYGONIA; MICROSPECTROPHOTOMETRY; ANIMAL pigments; MICROPHOTOMETER; SPECTROPHOTOMETERS
- Publication
Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural & Behavioral Physiology, 2005, Vol 191, Issue 5, p461
- ISSN
0340-7594
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s00359-005-0608-x