Meeting Abstract

31.2  Sunday, Jan. 5 08:15  Stomatopod opsin expression patterns in simple larval versus complex adult eyes PORTER, ML*; DOWD, SE; University of South Dakota, Vermillion; Molecular Research LP, Shallowater TX Megan.Porter@usd.edu

Larval stomatopod eyes have relatively simple compound eyes with a single spectral type of photoreceptor. Adult stomatopod crustaceans, by comparison, have complex and diverse visual systems, with the most complex stomatopod eye containing 16 physiologically different photoreceptor classes. To achieve the adult retinal complexity, rather than modify existing larval ocular structures, stomatopods build an entirely new retina medially adjacent to the existing larval eyes. Thus, during the late larval and early post-larval stages the animal possesses two retinas within a single eye. The development of sequential, but morphologically and physiological distinct, eyes in one organism provides a remarkable system for understanding the genetic mechanisms leading to sensory system complexity. To study this major sensory change at the molecular level, we generated transcriptomes of retinal tissue collected from different ontogenetic stages in two species of stomatopods. In the species Haptosquilla trispinosa, transcriptomes of adult versus embryonic eyes were sequenced. In the second species, Alima pacifica, we were able to dissect apart and sequence separately the degenerating larval and developing adult retinas of a larval compound eye just prior to metamorphosis. We present here the first molecular investigations of stomatopod visual system development, focusing specifically on comparisons of larval versus adult opsin transcripts. Opsin expression in in these two species suggests that similar to adults, larval eyes express more opsins than predicted based on physiology. Continuing studies are using transcriptomics to elucidate larval versus adult phototransduction networks and the developmental genetics responsible for adult stomatopod retinal complexity.