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Different retina-lamina projections in mosquitoes with fused and open rhabdoms
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 00:34 authored by Michael Land, Julia HorwoodAnopheles gambiae and Toxorhynchites brevipalpis represent the nocturnal and diurnal extremes of the mosquito light intensity range, and their eyes are structurally very different. A. gambiae has fused rhabdoms with huge acceptance angles, whereas T. brevipalpis has open rhabdoms with rhabdomere acceptance angles comparable with those of advanced (brachyceran) flies. Here, we show that the retina-lamina projections are consistent with these differences. The short receptor axons from each ommatidium in A. gambiae insert as a group between four lamina monopolar cell clusters. In T. brevipalpis axon bundles from each ommatidium undergo a twist in their passage through the nuclear layer of the lamina, and then fan out into a space the diameter of which is about twice the separation of the monopolar cell clusters. This arrangement is consistent with a neural superposition mechanism closely similar to that found in higher Diptera, but which must have evolved independently.
History
Publication status
- Published
Journal
Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral PhysiologyISSN
0340-7594Publisher
Springer VerlagExternal DOI
Issue
7Volume
191Page range
639-647Pages
9.0Department affiliated with
- Biology and Environmental Science Publications
Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2012-02-06Usage metrics
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