Meeting Abstract
Stomatopods possess one of the most intricate visual systems in nature. Their stalked eyes move independently and have multiple spectral and polarization channels. Amazingly the complex retina responsible for these abilities is only formed during the last phase of larval development during which time the larval retina is lost. It has been assumed that the eyes of larval stomatopods are far less complex than their adult counterparts, however our study shows that this might not be the case. Using transcriptomic analyses we have determined the opsin proteins which are expressed at embryonic, larval, and adult developmental stages of Pullosquilla thomassini, a species with the most complex of adult stomatopod eye types. With this information, we compared patterns of opsin expression between developmental stages to give more insight into the shift from larval to adult vision. Transcriptomes of retinal tissue from 6 different developmental stages were sequenced and opsins were identified. Our data suggests that P. thomassini possess a total of 31 opsins with all but one being expressed in the adult retina. 17 long wavelength sensitive, 12 middle wavelength sensitive, and 2 UV sensitive opsins were identified using phylogenetic methods. The number of opsins expressed increased throughout development with major shifts corresponding to physiological and environmental changes, most notably the appearance of characteristic larval eye shine. Expression levels (TPM) indicated most opsins increased in expression through development or peaked during formation of the adult retina. However, we found several opsins which were more highly expressed in the larval retina. Ongoing work will seek to characterize differential expression of a suite of rhabdomeric developmental genes as well as pigment pathways.
