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The photoactivation energy of the visual pigment in two spectrally different populations of Mysis relicta (Crustacea, Mysida)

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Abstract

We report the first study of the relation between the wavelength of maximum absorbance (λmax) and the photoactivation energy (E a) in invertebrate visual pigments. Two populations of the opossum shrimp Mysis relicta were compared. The two have been separated for 9,000 years and have adapted to different spectral environments (“Sea” and “Lake”) with porphyropsins peaking at λmax=529 nm and 554 nm, respectively. The estimation of E a was based on measurement of temperature effects on the spectral sensitivity of the eye. In accordance with theory (Stiles in Transactions of the optical convention of the worshipful company of spectacle makers. Spectacle Makers’ Co., London, 1948), relative sensitivity to long wavelengths increased with rising temperature. The estimates calculated from this effect are E a,529=47.8±1.8 kcal/mol and E a,554=41.5±0.7 kcal/mol (different at P<0.01). Thus the red-shift of λmax in the “Lake” population, correlating with the long-wavelength dominated light environment, is achieved by changes in the opsin that decrease the energy gap between the ground state and the first excited state of the chromophore. We propose that this will carry a cost in terms of increased thermal noise, and that evolutionary adaptation of the visual pigment to the light environment is directed towards maximizing the signal-to-noise ratio rather than the quantum catch.

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Abbreviations

C:

Cold

E a :

Photoactivation energy

ERG:

Electroretinogram

IR:

Infrared

S:

Relative fractional sensitivity

SNR:

Signal-to-noise ratio

W:

Warm

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Academy of Finland (grants 72615 and 206221), by the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters, by the Magnus Ehrnrooth Foundation, by the Ella and Georg Ehrnrooth Foundation, by the Oskar Öflund Foundation and by Svenska Kulturfonden. The present experiments comply with the Principles of animal care (publication No. 86–23, revised 1985) of the National Institute of Health, and with the corresponding national current laws.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Division of Physiology, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 65, 00014, Helsinki, Finland

    Johan Pahlberg, Nanna Fyhrquist-Vanni & Kristian Donner

  2. Tvärminne Zoological Station, University of Helsinki, 10900, Hanko, Finland

    Johan Pahlberg & Magnus Lindström

  3. Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA

    Petri Ala-Laurila

  4. Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering, Helsinki University of Technology, P.O. Box 2200, 02015, Espoo, Finland

    Ari Koskelainen

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  1. Johan Pahlberg
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  2. Magnus Lindström
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  3. Petri Ala-Laurila
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  4. Nanna Fyhrquist-Vanni
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  5. Ari Koskelainen
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  6. Kristian Donner
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Correspondence to Johan Pahlberg.

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Pahlberg, J., Lindström, M., Ala-Laurila, P. et al. The photoactivation energy of the visual pigment in two spectrally different populations of Mysis relicta (Crustacea, Mysida). J Comp Physiol A 191, 837–844 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-005-0005-5

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