Light-mediated control of rhodopsin movement in mosquito photoreceptors

Multiple mechanisms contribute to a photoreceptor's ability to adapt to ambient light conditions. The mosquito Aedes aegypti expresses the long-wavelength rhodopsin Aaop1 in all R1-R6 photoreceptors and most R8 photoreceptors. These photoreceptors alter the cellular location of Aaop1 and reorganize their photosensitive rhabdomeric membranes on a daily basis. During daylight periods, Aaop1 is excluded from the light-sensitive rhabdomeres and localized to multivesicular bodies (MVBs) within the photoreceptor cytoplasm. In the dark, Aaop1 accumulates in the rhabdomeres and no Aaop1-containing MVBs are present in the cytoplasm. Manipulation of light treatments shows the cellular movement of Aaop1 in and out of the rhabdomere is directly controlled by light. In a separate process, the photoreceptors reduce Aaop1 protein content during a time period spanning from late afternoon into the first 2 h of the dark period. Aaop1 levels then gradually increase through the dark period and remain high following movement of Aaop1 to the cytoplasm at dawn. These results demonstrate that mosquito photoreceptors control rhodopsin availability during the daily light-dark cycle by novel mechanisms not discerned from analysis of traditional invertebrate models. These mechanisms will maximize a photoreceptor's light sensitivity range and therefore may be common in organisms active in low light conditions.