SWEENEY, A.M.; JOHNSEN, S.; Duke University; Duke University: Biological Optical Instruments in the Deep Sea

Biologically generated optical instruments such as lenses, light guides and transparent tissues are an important part of the ecology of many metazoans, especially in midwater depths of the ocean. For example, organisms such as the hyperiid amphipod Phronima use fiber optic cables in their eyes, and the flashlight fish Lampanyctus parvicauda has lenses covering its lateral photophores. The optical and biochemical properties of these tissues are well understood for only two examples of optical biological tissues–those of vertebrate lenses and corneas. We have investigated via SDS-PAGE electrophoresis, western blotting and protein sequencing the protein composition of these and other deep sea optical instruments, and compared it to that of vertebrate lenses. We will report on similarities and differences between the biological construction of vertebrate eye lenses and the construction of these other deep sea optical proteins.