Ionochromic properties of long-wave-sensitive cones in the goldfish retina: an electrophysiological and microspectrophotometric study

Long-wave-sensitive (LWS) cone visual pigments are sensitive to the concentration of chloride ions and show a spectral shift to shorter wavelengths when exposed to low chloride levels. We have used the aspartate-isolated mass receptor potential of the electroretinogram (ERG) to establish whether the spectrally shifted cone pigment is functional. In the goldfish, Carassius auratus, the lambda(max) of the LWS porphyropsin is displaced from about 622 nm to around 606 nm when chloride is replaced by gluconate. The electrical response of the LWS cones (but not MWS cones and rods) is selectively and reversibly abolished by the removal of chloride ions. The effect is concentration dependent and a decrease to half the normal chloride ion concentration is sufficient to cause a decrease in the response.