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First published online June 6, 2005
Journal of Experimental Biology 208, 2347-2361 (2005)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2005
doi: 10.1242/jeb.01634
Molecular characterization and expression of the UV opsin in bumblebees: three ommatidial subtypes in the retina and a new photoreceptor organ in the lamina
Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology Group, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
Author for correspondence (e-mail:
abriscoe{at}uci.edu)
Accepted 6 April 2005
Ultraviolet-sensitive photoreceptors have been shown to be important for a
variety of visual tasks performed by bees, such as orientation, color and
polarization vision, yet little is known about their spatial distribution in
the compound eye or optic lobe. We cloned and sequenced a UV opsin mRNA
transcript from Bombus impatiens head-specific cDNA and, using
western blot analysis, detected an eye protein band of 
41 kDa,
corresponding to the predicted molecular mass of the encoded opsin. We then
characterized UV opsin expression in the retina, ocelli and brain using
immunocytochemistry. In the main retina, we found three different ommatidial
types with respect to the number of UV opsin-expressing photoreceptor cells,
namely ommatidia containing two, one or no UV opsin-immunoreactive cells. We
also observed UV opsin expression in the ocelli. These results indicate that
the cloned opsin probably encodes the P350 nm pigment, which was previously
characterized by physiological recordings. Surprisingly, in addition to
expression in the retina and ocelli, we found opsin expression in different
parts of the brain. UV opsin immunoreactivity was detected in the proximal rim
of the lamina adjacent to the first optic chiasm, which is where studies in
other insects have found expression of proteins involved in the circadian
clock, period and cryptochrome. We also found UV opsin immunoreactivity in the
core region of the antennal lobe glomeruli and different clusters of perikarya
within the protocerebrum, indicating a putative function of these brain
regions, together with the lamina organ, in the entrainment of circadian
rhythms. In order to test for a possible overlap of clock protein and UV opsin
spatial expression, we also examined the expression of the period protein in
these regions.
Key words: circadian rhythm, visual pigment, photoreceptor, color vision, ultraviolet
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