Evidence for light perception in a bioluminescent organ.

PubMed ID: 19509343

Author(s): Tong D, Rozas NS, Oakley TH, Mitchell J, Colley NJ, McFall-Ngai MJ. Evidence for light perception in a bioluminescent organ. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Jun 16;106(24):9836-41. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0904571106. Epub 2009 Jun 9. PMID 19509343

Journal: Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America, Volume 106, Issue 24, Jun 2009

Here we show that bioluminescent organs of the squid Euprymna scolopes possess the molecular, biochemical, and physiological capability for light detection. Transcriptome analyses revealed expression of genes encoding key visual transduction proteins in light-organ tissues, including the same isoform of opsin that occurs in the retina. Electroretinograms demonstrated that the organ responds physiologically to light, and immunocytochemistry experiments localized multiple proteins of visual transduction cascades to tissues housing light-producing bacterial symbionts. These data provide evidence that the light-organ tissues harboring the symbionts serve as extraocular photoreceptors, with the potential to perceive directly the bioluminescence produced by their bacterial partners.