At very low light levels the sensitivity of the visual system is determined by the efficiency with which single photons are captured, and the resulting signal transmitted from the rod photoreceptors through the retinal circuitry to the ganglion cells and on to the brain. Although the tiny electrical signals due to single photons have been observed in rod photoreceptors, little is known about ho...

Rising temperatures during growing seasons coupled with altered precipitation rates presents a challenging task of improving crop productivity for overcoming such altered weather patterns and cater to a growing population. Light is a critical environmental factor that exerts a powerful influence on plant growth and development ranging from seed germination to flowering and fruiting. Higher plan...

Plants monitor changes in the ambient light environment by highly specialised photoreceptors, which include the red/far-red photoreversible phytochromes, the blue-light-absorbing cryptochromes and phototropin and the so-far-unidentified UVB photoreceptor(s). Light easily penetrates plant organs/tissues and reaches even the subcellular compartments of various cell types. Therefore, it is not sur...

The visual system of the European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis) was analysed with microscopy and electrophysiological methods (electroretinograms and single-cell recordings). Ostrinia nubilalis has a pair of mainly ultraviolet-sensitive ocelli and a pair of compound eyes, maximally sensitive to green light. The ommatidia contain a tiered, fused rhabdom, consisting of the rhabdomeres of 9-12 p...

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a group of photoreceptor degenerative disorders that lead to loss of vision. Typically, rod photoreceptors degenerate first, resulting in loss of night and peripheral vision. Secondary cone degeneration eventually affects central vision, leading to total blindness. Previous studies have shown that photoreceptors could be protected from degeneration by exogenous neur...

SNAREs (SNAP receptors) are the key components of protein complexes that drive membrane fusion. Here, we report the function of a SNARE, Syntaxin 5 (Syx5), in the development of photoreceptors in Drosophila In wild-type photoreceptors, Syx5 localizes to cis-Golgi, along with cis-Golgi markers: Rab1 and GM130. We observed that Syx5-deficient photoreceptors show notable accumulation of these cis-...

Intrinsic changes have been identified in isolated and intact type A and type B photoreceptors following classical conditioning of the nudibranch mollusk Hermissenda. Aspects of various intrinsic, nonsynaptic modifications are expressed by alterations in the excitability of identified photoreceptors in response to the conditioned stimulus. In addition to changes in cellular excitability, change...

PURPOSE To determine whether retinal progenitor cells in the inner nuclear layer give rise to regenerated cones after laser ablation of photoreceptors in adult goldfish retina. METHODS Using a technique developed previously in this laboratory, photoreceptors in the retina of adult goldfish were ablated with an argon laser. The mitotic marker, bromodeoxyuridine, was used to label proliferating...

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is an inherited neurodegenerative disease, in which the death of mutant rod photoreceptors leads secondarily to the non-cell autonomous death of cone photoreceptors. Gene therapy is a promising treatment strategy. Unfortunately, current methods of gene delivery treat only a fraction of diseased cells, yielding retinas that are a mosaic of treated and untreated rods, as...