Variation in opsin transcript expression explains intraretinal differences in spectral sensitivity of the northern...

Vertebrate retinal photoreceptors house visual pigments that absorb light to begin the process of vision. The light absorbed by a visual pigment depends on its two molecular components: protein (opsin) and chromophore (a vitamin A derivative). Although an increasing number of studies show intraretinal variability in visual pigment content, it is only for two mammals (human and mouse) and two birds (chicken and pigeon) that such variability has been demonstrated to underlie differences in spectral sensitivity of the animal. Here, we show that the spectral sensitivity of the northern anchovy varies with retinal quadrant and that this variability can be explained by differences in the expression of opsin transcripts. Retinal (vitamin A1) was the only chromophore detected in the retina, ruling out this molecular component as a source of variation in spectral sensitivity. Chromatic adaptation experiments further showed that the dorsal retina had the capacity to mediate color vision. Together with published results for the ventral retina, this study is the first to demonstrate that intraretinal opsin variability in a fish drives corresponding variation in the animal's spectral sensitivity.