Light and electron microscopy revealed that there are both rods and cones in the retina of the eel Anguilla rostrata. The rods predominate with a rod to cone ratio of 150:1. The spectral sensitivity of the dark-adapted eyecup ERG had a peak at about 520 nm and was well fit by a vitamin A2 nomogram pigment with a lambdamax = 520 nm. This agrees with the eel photopigment measurements of other investigators. This result implies that a single spectral mechanism--the rods--provides the input for the dark-adapted ERG. The spectral sensitivity of the ERG to flicker in the light-adapted eyecup preparation was shifted to longer wavelengths; it peaked at around 550 nm. However, there was evidence that this technique might not have completely eliminated rod intrusion. Rod responses were abolished in a bleached isolated retina preparation, in which it was shown that there were two classes of cone-like mechanisms, one with lambdamax of 550 nm and the other with lambdamax of less than 450 nm. Ganglion cell recording provided preliminary evidence for opponent-color processing. Horizontal cells were only of the L type with both rod and cone inputs.
Article|
February 01 1978
The eel retina. Receptor classes and spectral mechanisms.
J Gordon
R M Shapley
E Kaplan
Online Issn: 1540-7748
Print Issn: 0022-1295
J Gen Physiol (1978) 71 (2): 123–138.
Citation
J Gordon, R M Shapley, E Kaplan; The eel retina. Receptor classes and spectral mechanisms.. J Gen Physiol 1 February 1978; 71 (2): 123–138. doi: https://doi.org/10.1085/jgp.71.2.123
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