Meeting Abstract

45.3  Tuesday, Jan. 5  Dermal photoreception in the pond snail Lymnaea PANKEY, M.S.*; SUNADA, H.; SAKAKIBARA, M.; University of California, Santa Barbara; Tokai University; Tokai University mpankey@lifesci.ucsb.edu

Light perception in many animals, even those lacking eyes, is assisted by a diffuse system of photoreceptive neurons. Such nonvisual photoreception may represent an ancient mechanism predating the origin of eyes. Indeed, nonvisual photoreceptors have been implicated in several biological roles ranging from predator avoidance to circadian rythmicity and migration to bioluminescence regulation. Despite such tremendous biological and evolutionary significance, many aspects of nonvisual photoreception are poorly characterized. We investigated the molecular basis of the light sensitivity in the dermal photoreceptors of the pond snail Lymnaea. To identify the underlying phototransduction pathway, we undertook behavioral and electrophysiological tests using pharmacological agents known to target the distinct pathways of vertebrate and invertebrate visual cells, respectively. From both approaches we find evidence of cyclic-nucleotide mediated phototransduction in the snail’s dermal photoreceptors.