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Head and compound eye of Apis mellifera , with the nomen- clature of eye regions: ad, anterior dorsal; pd, posterior dorsal; f, frontal; av, anterior ventral; pv, posterior ventral
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The honeybee compound eye is equipped with ultraviolet, blue, and green receptors, which form the physiological basis of a trichromatic color vision system. We studied the distribution of the spectral receptors by localizing the three mRNAs encoding the opsins of the ultraviolet-, blue- and green-absorbing visual pigments. The expression patterns o...
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... studied whether ommatidial types show regional distri- bution across the honeybee eye. We divided the main part of the compound eye, i.e. except for the dorsal rim area (DRA), in five regions: the anterior dorsal, posterior dor- sal, frontal, anterior ventral, and posterior ventral regions (Fig. 1). We selected several sections containing clearly labeled ommatidia from each region collected from 2-4 in- dividuals. We thus determined the frequency of three types of ommatidia (see below) in these regions. We excluded the ommatidia in the DRA here, because the labeling quality in those ommatidia was not very ...
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... characterized the three types of ommatidia, we asked whether they are heterogeneously distributed across the eye. We analyzed sections labeled with the UV or B probe, which allowed us to identify the ommatidial type unambiguously ( Fig. 2a and b). We estimated the number of ommatidia of each type in the five regions of the eye (Fig. 1). Type III appeared to occupy only about 10% of the total number of ommatidia. They seem to be more fre- quent in the anterior ventral region (Table 1): the region seems to be more densely populated by B receptors than other ...
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We review the physiological, molecular, and neural mechanisms of insect color vision. Phylogenetic and molecular analyses reveal that the basic bauplan, UV-blue-green-trichromacy, appears to date back to the Devonian ancestor of all pterygote insects. There are variations on this theme, however. These concern the number of color receptor types, the...
There is enormous variation in the X-linked L/M (long/middle wavelength sensitive) gene array underlying “normal” color vision in humans. This variability has been shown to underlie individual variation in color matching behavior. Recently, red–green color blindness has also been shown to be associated with distinctly different genotypes. This has...
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Citations
... 17,18 Insects possess a classical model system of spectral receptors in the compound eye, including ultraviolet (UV), blue (B), and green (G) photoreceptors. 19,20 They exhibit a high degree of phototaxis behavioral response to these light sources. [21][22][23] The r-opsin family of insects may be divided into three clades based on the spectral peaks of the pigments: long-wavelength-sensitive opsin (LW opsin, peak absorbance 500-600 nm), blue-sensitive opsin (blue opsin, peak absorbance 400-500 nm), and ultraviolet-sensitive opsin (UV opsin, peak absorbance 300-400 nm). ...
Background
Zeugodacus cucuribitae is a major agricultural pest that causes significant damage to varieties of plants. Vision plays a critical role in phototactic behavior of herbivorous insects. However, the effect of opsin on the phototactic behavior in Z. cucuribitae remains unknown. The aim of this research is to explore the key opsin genes that associate with phototaxis behavior of Z. cucurbitae.
Results
Five opsin genes were identified and their expression patterns were analyzed. The relative expression levels of ZcRh1, ZcRh4 and ZcRh6 were highest in 4‐day‐old larvae, ZcRh2 and ZcRh3 were highest in 3rd‐instar larvae and 5‐day‐old pupae, respectively. Furthermore, five opsin genes had the highest expression levels in compound eyes, followed by the antennae and head, whereas the lower occurred in other tissues. The expression of the long‐wavelength‐sensitive (LW) opsins first decreased and then increased under green light exposure. In contrast, the expression of ultraviolet‐sensitive (UV) opsins first increased and then decreased with the duration of UV exposure. Silencing of LW opsin (dsZcRh1, dsZcRh2, and dsZcRh6) and UV opsin (dsZcRh3 and dsZcRh4) reduced the phototactic efficiency of Z. cucurbitae to green light by 52.27%, 60.72%, and 67.89%, and to UV light by 68.59% and 61.73%, respectively.
Conclusion
The results indicate that RNAi inhibited the expression of opsin, thereby inhibiting the phototaxis of Z. cucurbitae. This result provides theoretical support for the physical control of Z. cucurbitae and lays the foundation for further exploration of the mechanism of insect phototaxis. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.
... Gene duplication is a well-studied mechanism that facilitates evolution of novel gene functions (Briscoe 2001;Storz et al. 2013;McCulloch et al. 2022). Typically, the most conserved photopigments across insects are those that sense UV, blue and LW (Chang et al. 1996;Townson et al. 1998;Wakakuwa et al. 2005;Arikawa et al. 2017). We identified lineage-specific duplications in three opsin genes (UV, Blue and LW) where the duplicated copies formed clusters based on the sequence homology ( Fig. 1). ...
Gene duplication is a vital process for evolutionary innovation. Functional diversification of duplicated genes is best explored in multicopy gene families such as histones, hemoglobin, and opsins. Rhodopsins are photo-sensitive proteins that respond to different wavelengths of light and contribute to diverse visual adaptations across insects. While there are several instances of gene duplications in opsin lineages, the functional diversification of duplicated copies and their ecological significance is properly characterised only in a few insect groups. We examined molecular and structural evolution that underlies diversification and sub-functionalisation of four opsin genes and their duplicated copies across 132 species of the diverse insect order-Lepidoptera. Opsins have largely evolved under purifying selection with few residues showing signs of episodic and pervasive diversifying selection. Although these do not affect overall protein structures of opsins, substitutions in key amino acids in the chromophore-binding pocket of duplicated copies might cause spectral sensitivity shifts leading to sub-functionalisation or neofunctionalisation. Duplicated copies of opsins also exhibit developmental stage-specific expression in Papilio polytes, suggesting functional partitioning during development. Together, altered spectral sensitivities owing to key substitutions and differential expression of duplicated copies across developmental stages might enable enhanced colour perception and improved discrimination across wavelengths in this highly visual insect group.
... The photoreceptors R1-8 contribute the microvilli to the entire length of the rhabdom while the R9 photoreceptor, located close to the basal membrane, contributes microvilli only at the base of the ommatidium (Wakakuwa et al., 2005). Towards the center of each ommatidium, photoreceptor cells extend a dense array of microvilli, forming together an ordered structure known as the rhabdom (Fig. 7), with each microvillar contribution by a given photoreceptor cell being termed rhabdomere. ...
... Three types of photoreceptors, S, M, and L (for short-, mid-, and long-range wavelength) peaking in the UV, blue and green regions of the spectrum, respectively, have been identified in the honey bee retina (Peitsch et al., 1992). b) The compound eye of Apis mellifera and its different eye regions (Wakakuwa et al., 2005): dorsal rim area (dra), anterior dorsal (ad), posterior dorsal (pd), frontal (f), anterior ventral (av), posterior ventral (pv). ...
... Their color vision is based on the existence of three types of photoreceptors, tuned to detect short (S, UV), medium (M, blue) and long (L, green) wavelengths (Fig. 8). These photoreceptors have sensitivities peaking in the UV, blue and green parts of the spectrum; they are termed S (shortwavelength sensitive, λmax = 344 nm), M (middle-wavelength sensitive, λ = 436 nm) and L (longwavelength sensitive; λmax = 544 nm) receptor types, respectively (Menzel and Backhaus, 1991;Wakakuwa et al., 2005), although they are commonly called UV, blue and green receptor types. ...
Honey bees are endowed with the capacity of color vision as they possess three types of photoreceptors in their retina that are maximally sensitive in the ultraviolet, blue and green domains owing to the presence of corresponding opsin types. While the behavioral aspects of color vision have been intensively explored based on the easiness by which free-flying bee foragers are trained to color stimuli paired with sucrose solution, the molecular underpinnings of this capacity have been barely explored. Here we developed studies that spanned the exploration of opsin properties and changes of gene expression in the bee brain during color learning and retention in controlled laboratory protocols to fill this void. We characterized opsin distribution in the honey bee visual system, focusing on the presence of two types of green opsins (Amlop1 and Amlop2), one of which (Amlop2) was discovered upon sequencing of the bee genome. We confirmed that Amlop1 is present in ommatidia of the compound eye but not in the ocelli, while Amlop2 is confined to the ocelli. We developed a CRISPR/Cas9 approach to determine possible functional differences between these opsins. We successfully created Amlop1 and Amlop2 adult mutant bees by means of the CRISPR/Cas9 technology and we also produced white-gene mutants as a control for the efficiency of our method. We tested our mutants using a conditioning protocol in which bees learn to inhibit attraction to chromatic light based on electric-shock punishment (Icarus protocol). White and Amlop2 mutants learned to inhibit spontaneous attraction to blue light while Amlop1 mutants failed to do so. These results indicate that responses to blue light, which is also partially sensed by green receptors, are mediated mainly by compound-eye photoreceptors containing Amlop1 but not by the ocellar system in which photoreceptors contain Amlop2. Accordingly, 24 hours later, white and Amlop2 mutants exhibited an aversive memory for the punished color that was comparable to control bees but Amlop1 mutants exhibited no memory. We discuss these findings based on controls with eyes or ocelli covered by black paint and interpret our results by discussing use of chromatic vs. achromatic vision via the compound eyes and the ocelli, respectively. Finally, we analyzed immediate early gene (IEG) expression in specific areas of the bee brain following color vision learning in a virtual reality (VR) environment. We changed the degrees of freedom of this environment and subjected bees to a 2D VR in which only lateral movements of the stimuli were possible and to a 3D VR which provided a more immersive sensation. We analyzed levels of relative expression of three IEGs (kakusei, Hr38, and Egr1) in the calyces of the mushroom bodies, the optic lobes and the rest of the brain after color discrimination learning. In the 3D VR, successful learners exhibited Egr1 upregulation only in the calyces of the mushroom bodies, thus uncovering a privileged involvement of these brain regions in associative color learning. Yet, in the 2D VR, Egr1 was downregulated in the OLs while Hr38 and kakusei were coincidently downregulated in the calyces of the MBs in the learned group. Although both VR scenarios point towards specific activations of the calyces of the mushroom bodies (and of the visual circuits in the 2D VR), the difference in the type of expression detected suggests that the different constraints of the two VRs may lead to different kinds of neural phenomena. While 3D VR scenarios allowing for navigation and exploratory learning may lead to IEG upregulation, 2D VR scenarios in which movements are constrained may induce higher levels of inhibitory activity in the bee brain. Overall, we provide a series of new explorations of the visual system, including new functional analyses and the development of novel methods to study opsin function, which advances our understanding of honey bee vision and visual learning.
... Unfortunately, no histological data on opsin mRNA or protein localization within the ommatidia in ants are available. In honeybees [53] and bumblebees [54], histological studies revealed different ommatidial types, which differ in the composition of PR cells. They showed that the greenlight-sensitive PRs are more frequent than the UV-or bluelight-sensitive ones and that only some of the ommatidia comprise all three PR types. ...
Ants are ecologically one of the most important groups of insects and exhibit impressive capabilities for visual learning and orientation. Studies on numerous ant species demonstrate that ants can learn to discriminate between different colours irrespective of light intensity and modify their behaviour accordingly. However, the findings across species are variable and inconsistent, suggesting that our understanding of colour vision in ants and what roles ecological and phylogenetic factors play is at an early stage. This review provides a brief synopsis of the critical findings of the past century of research by compiling studies that address molecular, physiological and behavioural aspects of ant colour vision. With this, we aim to improve our understanding of colour vision and to gain deeper insights into the mysterious and colourful world of ants.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘Understanding colour vision: molecular, physiological, neuronal and behavioural studies in arthropods’.
... Therefore, bee brains, as well as many other arthropod brains, can be divided into separate neuropil areas (zones of dense synaptic networks of neuronal processes) (for a detail reference system see [25,26]). Visual information is specifically acquired by the types of photoreceptors sensitive to different wavelengths of the spectrum [27][28][29]. The dorsal area of protocerebrum receives terminal extension originating in the optic lobe, that is, a large and complex neuropil areas involved in the analyses of visual input. ...
For two centuries, visual illusions have attracted the attention of neurobiologists and com- parative psychologists, given the possibility of investigating the complexity of perceptual mechanisms by using relatively simple patterns. Animal models, such as primates, birds, and fish, have played a crucial role in understanding the physiological circuits involved in the susceptibility of visual illusions. However, the comprehension of such mechanisms is still a matter of debate. Despite their different neural architectures, recent studies have shown that some arthropods, primarily Hymenoptera and Diptera, experience illusions similar to those humans do, suggesting that perceptual mechanisms are evolutionarily conserved among species. Here, we review the current state of illusory perception in bees. First, we introduce bees’ visual system and speculate which areas might make them susceptible to illusory scenes. Second, we review the current state of knowledge on misperception in bees (Apidae), focusing on the visual stimuli used in the literature. Finally, we discuss important aspects to be considered before claiming that a species shows higher cognitive ability while equally supporting alternative hypotheses. This growing evidence provides insights into the evolutionary origin of visual mechanisms across species.
... This study found an increase in duplications within the higher flies (e.g., Drosophila) which would likely contribute to their higher photoresponse [7,12]. It has also been shown that duplication in Drosophila long-wavelength opsins enabled them to escape from ancestral pleiotropy [7,[13][14][15][16]. However, opsins represent only one of many molecular players in the phototransduction (PT) pathway and examining the other components can help shed further light on this complex sensory system [17]. ...
Most organisms are dependent on sensory cues from their environment for survival and reproduction. Fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae) represent an ideal system for studying sensory niche adaptation due to many species relying on bioluminescent communication; as well as a diversity of ecologies. Here; using transcriptomics; we examine the phototransduction pathway in this non-model organism; and provide some of the first evidence for positive selection in the phototransduction pathway beyond opsins in beetles. Evidence for gene duplications within Lampyridae are found in inactivation no afterpotential C and inactivation no afterpotential D. We also find strong support for positive selection in arrestin-2; inactivation no afterpotential D; and transient receptor potential-like; with weak support for positive selection in guanine nucleotide-binding protein G(q) subunit alpha and neither inactivation nor afterpotential C. Taken with other recent work in flies; butterflies; and moths; this represents an exciting new avenue of study as we seek to further understand diversification and constraint on the phototransduction pathway in light of organism ecology.
... Error bars represent standard error of the mean. opsin), BL-opsin, and UV-opsin probably form the physiological basis of the trichromatic vision system in honeybees (Hymenoptera: Apidae), 41 Manduca sexta (tobacco hawkmoth, Lepidoptera: Sphingidae), 42,43 and H. armigera. 39,44 We discovered LW-opsin, BL-opsin, and UV-opsin in P. xylostella. ...
BACKGROUND
Opsins are crucial for animal vision. The identity and function of opsins in Plutella xylostella remain unknown. The aim of the research is to confirm which opsin gene(s) contribute to phototaxis of P. xylostella.
RESULTS
LW‐opsin, BL‐opsin and UV‐opsin, were identified in the P. xylostella genome. LW‐opsin was more highly expressed than the other two opsin genes, and all three genes were specifically expressed in the head. Three P. xylostella strains, LW‐13 with a 13‐bp deletion in LW‐opsin, BL + 2 with a 2‐bp insertion in BL‐opsin, and UV‐29 with a 5‐bp insertion and a 34‐bp deletion in UV‐opsin, were established from the strain G88 using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. Among the three opsin‐knockout strains, only male and female LW‐13 exhibited weaker phototaxis to lights of different wavelengths and white light than G88 at 2.5 lx due to defective locomotion, and LW‐13 was defective to sense white, green and infrared lights. The locomotion of LW‐13 was reduced compared with G88 at 2.5, 10, 20, 60, 80, 100, and 200 lx under the green light, but the locomotion of LW‐13 female was recovered at 80, 100 and 200 lx. The defective phototaxis to the green light of male LW‐13 was not affected by light intensity, while the defective phototaxis to the green light of female LW‐13 was recovered at 10, 20, 60, 80, 100, and 200 lx.
CONCLUSION
LW‐opsin is involved in light sensing and locomotion of P. xylostella, providing a potential target gene for controlling the pest. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.
... This suggests that opsins may act as chemosensors or as thermosensors besides their well-known role in vision (Leung & Montell, 2017). Honey bees possess four opsin genes conferring sensitivity to UV-, blue and green light ranges (1 UV opsin, 1 blue opsin and two green opsins; Velarde et al., 2005;Wakakuwa et al., 2005), but no study has yet investigated their possible role as chemosensors or thermosensors. ...
Understanding the neural principles governing taste perception in species that bear economic importance or serve as research models for other sensory modalities constitutes a strategic goal. Such is the case of the honey bee (Apis mellifera), which is environmentally and socioeconomically important, given its crucial role as pollinator agent in agricultural landscapes and which has served as a traditional model for visual and olfactory neurosciences and for research on communication, navigation and learning and memory. Here we review the current knowledge on honey bee gustatory receptors to provide an integrative view of peripheral taste detection in this insect, highlighting specificities and commonalities with other insect species. We describe behavioral and electrophysiological responses to several tastant categories and relate these responses, whenever possible, to known molecular receptor mechanisms. Overall, we adopted an evolutionary and comparative perspective to understand the neural principles of honey bee taste, and define key questions that should be answered in future gustatory research centered on this insect.
... Since the first demonstration of color vision in flower-visiting honeybees (Turner, 1910;Frisch, 1914), it has become a central topic of insect behavioral neuroscience. Foraging honeybee uses a trichromatic system based on the UV, blue, and green-sensitive photoreceptors in their compound eyes (Menzel and Backhaus, 1989;Wakakuwa et al., 2005). ...
We demonstrate that the small white butterfly, Pieris rapae, uses color vision when searching flowers for foraging. We first trained newly emerged butterflies in a series of indoor behavioral experiments to take sucrose solution on paper disks, colored either blue, green, yellow, or red. After confirming that the butterflies were trained to visit a certain colored disk, we presented all disks simultaneously. The butterflies selected the disk of trained color, even among an array of disks with different shades of gray. We performed the training using monochromatic lights and measured the action spectrum of the feeding behavior to determine the targets’ Pieris-subjective brightness. We used the subjective brightness information to evaluate the behavioral results and concluded that Pieris rapae butterflies discriminate visual stimuli based on the chromatic content independent of the intensity: they have true color vision. We also found that Pieris butterflies innately prefer blue and yellow disks, which appears to match with their flower preference in the field, at least in part.
... Opsins can be divided into three classes-ultraviolet-sensitive (UV opsins), blue light-sensitive (Blue opsins), and long wavelength-sensitive (LW opsins)that underpin their sensitivity to ultraviolet (∼350 nm), short (∼440 nm), and long (∼530 nm) wavelength light, respectively (Briscoe, 2001). Insects commonly possess opsins that are sensitive to UV, Blue, and LW spectral peaks (Wakakuwa et al., 2005;Pohl et al., 2009). However, duplications of Blue and LW opsins have been recorded in several insect orders, whereas UV opsin duplications have only been recorded in relatively few species (Lord et al., 2016). ...
The emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis, is a highly destructive quarantine pest. The olfactory and visual systems of A. planipennis play different but critical roles at newly emerged and sexually mature stages; however, the molecular basis underlying these differences remain unclear. Consequently, based on deep transcriptome sequencing, we evaluated the expression levels of chemosensory-related proteins and opsins at the two developmental stages of A. planipennis. We found 15 new chemosensory-related genes in our transcriptome assembly compared with the previous genome assembly, including 6 that code for odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) and 9 for chemosensory proteins (CSPs). The expression of several chemosensory-related genes (OBP7, OBP10, CSP1, and CSP12) differed markedly between newly emerged and sexually mature A. planipennis. We also found that the expression of UV opsin 2 and LW opsin 1 was higher in sexually mature male A. planipennis, which may be associated with their strong visual mate detection ability. This study forms the basis for further investigation of the chemosensory and visual system of A. planipennis, and these differentially expressed genes between newly emerged and sexually mature stages may serve as targets for the management of this destructive forest pest after sexual maturity.
