Summary
In common with other cyclostomata, the Japanese river lamprey (Lampetra japonica) has a retina consisting of distinct types of photoreceptor cells called long and short photoreceptor cells. After freeze-fracture, disc membranes of these photoreceptor cells were characterized in common by a homogeneous distribution of intramembrane particles on the protoplasmic fracture faces, in contrast to those of the myeloid bodies bearing scattering particles.
Immunofluorescent examination was applied to the retina with monoclonal antibodies raised against bovine and chicken rhodopsins. Positive immunoreactivity was found to be limited to outer segments of the short cell, leaving the entire body of the long cell and all other components of the retina negative. The results suggest that the short cell is more closely related to a rod-type photoreceptor cell characterized by rhodopsin as its visual pigment.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Dickson DH, Graves DA (1979) Fine structure of the lamprey photoreceptors and retinal pigment epithelium (Petromyzon marinus L). Exp Eye Res 29:45–60
Homberg K, Öhman P (1976) Fine structure of retinal synaptic organelles in lamprey and hagfish photoreceptors. Vision Res 16:237–239
Holmberg K, Öhman P, Dreyfert T (1977) ERG-recordings from the retina of the river lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis). Vision Res 17:715–717
Kleerekoper H (1972) The sense organ. In: Hardisty MW, Potter IC (eds) The biology of lampreys, Academic Press, London, vol. 2, pp 374–404
Negishi K, Teranishi T, Kuo C-H, Miki N (1987) Two types lamprey retina photoreceptors immunoreactive to rod or cone-specific antibodies. Vision Res (in press)
Öhman P (1971) The photoreceptor outer segments of the river lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis). An electron-, fluorescence- and light microscopic study. Acta Zool 52:287–297
Öhman P (1976) Fine structure of photoreceptors and associated neurons in the retina of Lampetra fluviatilis (Cyclostomi). Vision Res 16:659–662
Oi VT, Herzenberg LA (1980) Immunoglobulin-producing hybrid cell lines. In: Mishell BB, Shiigi SM (eds) Selected methods in cellular immunology, W.H. Freeman and Company, San Francisco, pp 351–372
Papermaster DS, Dreyer WJ (1974) Rhodopsin content in the outer segment membranes of bovine and frog retinal rods. Biochemistry 13:2438–2444
Richards RC, Trenholm KR, Semoff S (1986) The use of semithin frozen sections in immunocytochemistry. In: Polak JM, Van Nordan S (eds) Immunocytochemistry. Modern methods and applications. Wright, Bristol, pp 89–98
Tokunaga F (1986) The properties of monoclonal antibodies of bovine rhodopsin. In: Ovchinnikov YA (ed) Retinal proteins. VNU Science Press, Irkutsk (in press)
Tonosaki A, Yamamoto TY (1974) Double-replicating method for the freeze-fractured retina. J Ultrastruct Res 47:86–94
Tonosaki A, Tokunaga F, Washioka H, Kataoka M, Hisatomi O (1984) Fine structure of the red membrane of Halobacterium halobium (R1). Biomed Res 5:1–8
Towbin H, Staehelin T, Gordon J (1979) Electrophoretic transfer of proteins from polyacrylamide gels to nitrocellulose sheets: Procedure and some applications. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 76:4350–4354
Walls GL (1935) The visual cells of lampreys. Br J Ophthalmol 19:129–148
Watanabe H, Washioka H, Tonosaki A (1986) “Cholinergic” post-synaptic membranes of bullfrog sympathetic ganglia: Electron microscopy of thin sections and freeze-fracture replicas. Anat Rec 214:82–88
Yamada E, Ishikawa T (1967) The so called “synaptic ribbon” in the inner segment of the lamprey retina. Arch Histol Jpn 28:411–417
Young RW (1971) An hypothesis to account for a basic distinction between rods and cones. Vision Res 11:1–5
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ishikawa, M., Takao, M., Washioka, H. et al. Demonstration of rod and cone photoreceptors in the lamprey retina by freeze-replication and immunofluorescence. Cell Tissue Res. 249, 241–246 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00215506
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00215506