Skip to main content
bioRxiv
  • Home
  • About
  • Submit
  • ALERTS / RSS
Advanced Search
New Results

A novel cellular structure in the photoreceptors of insectivorous birds

Luke P. Tyrrell, Leandro B.C. Teixeira, Richard R. Dubielzig, Diana Pita, Patrice Baumhardt, Bret A. Moore, Esteban Fernández-Juricic
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/551945
Luke P. Tyrrell
1SUNY Plattsburgh, Department of Biological Sciences, 101 Broad Street, Plattsburgh, NY 12901
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: ltyrr002@plattsburgh.edu
Leandro B.C. Teixeira
2University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, 2015 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Richard R. Dubielzig
2University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, 2015 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Diana Pita
3Purdue University, Department of Biological Sciences, 915 W State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47904
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Patrice Baumhardt
3Purdue University, Department of Biological Sciences, 915 W State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47904
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Bret A. Moore
4University of California-Davis, William R. Pritchard Veterinary Teaching Hospital, School of Veterinary Medicine, 1 Garrod Drive, Davis, CA 95695
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Esteban Fernández-Juricic
3Purdue University, Department of Biological Sciences, 915 W State Street, West Lafayette, IN 47904
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Abstract
  • Full Text
  • Info/History
  • Metrics
  • Supplementary material
  • Preview PDF
Loading

Abstract

The keen visual systems of birds have been relatively well-studied. The foundations of avian vision rest on their cone and rod photoreceptors. Most birds use four cone photoreceptor types for color vision, a fifth cone for achromatic tasks, and a rod for low-light levels. The cones, along with their oil droplets, and rods are conserved across birds – with the exception of a few shifts in spectral sensitivity – despite taxonomic, behavioral and ecological differences. Here, however, we describe a novel photoreceptor in a group of New World flycatchers (Empidonax spp.) in which the traditional oil droplet is replaced with a complex of electron-dense megamitochondria surrounded by hundreds of small, orange oil droplets. These photoreceptors were unevenly distributed across the retina, being present in the central region (including in the fovea), but absent from the retinal periphery and the area temporalis. Many bird species have had their oil droplets and photoreceptors characterized, but only the two flycatchers described here (E. virescens and E. minimus) possess this unusual structure. We discuss the potential functional significance of the unique sub-cellular structure in these photoreceptors providing an additional visual channel for these small predatory songbirds.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC 4.0 International license.
Back to top
PreviousNext
Posted February 15, 2019.
Download PDF

Supplementary Material

Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv.

NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
A novel cellular structure in the photoreceptors of insectivorous birds
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Share
A novel cellular structure in the photoreceptors of insectivorous birds
Luke P. Tyrrell, Leandro B.C. Teixeira, Richard R. Dubielzig, Diana Pita, Patrice Baumhardt, Bret A. Moore, Esteban Fernández-Juricic
bioRxiv 551945; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/551945
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo LinkedIn logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
A novel cellular structure in the photoreceptors of insectivorous birds
Luke P. Tyrrell, Leandro B.C. Teixeira, Richard R. Dubielzig, Diana Pita, Patrice Baumhardt, Bret A. Moore, Esteban Fernández-Juricic
bioRxiv 551945; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/551945

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Subject Area

  • Zoology
Subject Areas
All Articles
  • Animal Behavior and Cognition (3514)
  • Biochemistry (7367)
  • Bioengineering (5347)
  • Bioinformatics (20326)
  • Biophysics (10046)
  • Cancer Biology (7777)
  • Cell Biology (11353)
  • Clinical Trials (138)
  • Developmental Biology (6453)
  • Ecology (9980)
  • Epidemiology (2065)
  • Evolutionary Biology (13357)
  • Genetics (9373)
  • Genomics (12614)
  • Immunology (7725)
  • Microbiology (19104)
  • Molecular Biology (7465)
  • Neuroscience (41153)
  • Paleontology (301)
  • Pathology (1235)
  • Pharmacology and Toxicology (2142)
  • Physiology (3180)
  • Plant Biology (6880)
  • Scientific Communication and Education (1276)
  • Synthetic Biology (1900)
  • Systems Biology (5328)
  • Zoology (1091)