Meeting Abstract

7.2  Monday, Jan. 4  The molecular contribution to bifocal vision in the four-eyed fish, Anableps anableps OWENS, GL*; WINDSOR, DJ; ALLISON, WT; TAYLOR, JT; University of Victoria; University of Victoria; University of Alberta; University of Victoria thermalgibbon@gmail.com

The “four-eyed” fish, Anableps anableps, possess morphological adaptations that enable simultaneous vision above and below water. These adaptations include a divided cornea, an oval shaped lens, and a retina with distinct dorsal and ventral sections that are exposed to aerial and aquatic light respectively. To better characterize the molecular adaptations for simultaneous above and below water vision, we have sequenced the A. anableps visual opsin gene repertoire and described the expression domains of these opsins using in situ hybridization. A. anableps has ten visual opsin genes: one rod opsin, RH1, and nine cone opsins including two genes in the RH2 subfamily, four LWS ospsin, one SWS1 and two SWS2 opsins. In situ hybridization using whole retinas and sectioned retinas shows expression throughout the retina for some genes and expression limited to specific regions of the retina for others. These data are discussed with respect to the different spectral properties of light entering the eye from above and below the water and with respect to opsin gene repertoire and expression in close relatives with ‘normal’ eyes.