T h e Chrom ophore o f the V isual Pigm ent in S o m e In sect Orders
K laus Vogt
M ax-Planck-Institut für biologische Kybernetik. Spemann- straße 38. D -7400 Tiibingen. Bundesrepublik Deutschland Z. Naturforsch. 39 c , 1 9 6 -1 9 7 (1984);
received Decem ber 15. 1983
Retinal. Rhodopsin. Xanthopsin, Insect Vision
The chrom ophore o f the visual pigm ent in different insect orders has been identified. The novel chromophore 3-hydroxy-retinal was found in Diptera and Lepidoptera, while in the other groups investigated retinal is the chrom ophore o f the visual pigment.
196
It has recently b een show n th a t the visual pig
m e n t (x an th o p sin ) o f the fly.
Calliphora
, has a novel c h ro m o p h o re [1]. T he chem ical an d spectral properties o f this ch ro m o p h o re m ake its identity as 3 -hydroxy-retinal m ost likely [2], This is p articularly surprising as it has b een accepted as proven th at the c h ro m o p h o re o f the fly visual p igm ent is retinal(e.g.
[3]). Since, am o n g st the insects, the fly has b een the m ost intensively investigated in this respect (with the exception o f the n e u ro p te ra n . A scalaphus [4]) it w ould a p p e a r th a t the previous studies o f the ch ro m o p h o re in o th e r insect species(e. g.
[5, 6]) also req u ire reinvestigation.T he follow ing results are based on high perfo r
m ance th in layer c h ro m a to g rap h y (H PTLC ) o f eye o r h ead extracts tre a te d w ith N H 2O H to form the oxim e o f the respective c h ro m o p h o re aldehyde (for details see [1]).
R etinal was found in the follow ing insect groups:
O d o n ta
(Aeschna cyanea);
C aelifera (Locusta migra- toria
); E nsifera (Gryllus bimaculatus
); B lattodea(Blatta orientalis)\
H ete ro p tera(Gerris najas, No- toneeta glauca)\
H y m en o p tera(Apis mellifica, Vespa germanica
).3-H ydroxy retinal was found in the follow ing groups: D ip tera
(Calliphora erythroeephala
,Chrvso-
R ep rin t requests to Dr. K. Vogt.
0341-0382/84/0100-0196 $ 0 1 .3 0 /0
mya rufifacies, Musca domestica. Drosophila me- lanogaster. Rhagoletis cerasi. Eristalomva tenax, Nephrotoma ferruginea);
L ep id o p tera(Ephestia kiihniella
,Galleria mellonella, Maeroglossum stella- tarum).
O ne exception was discovered am ongst th e d iptera: n am ely the sim u liid a nWillhelmia
sp. in which the c h ro m o p h o re was identified as retinal rath e r th a n 3-hyd ro x y -retin al. H ow ever, there are reasons for con sid erin g this a secondarily acquired characteristic (Vogt a n d K irschfeld, in p re p a ra tion).The occu rren ce o f th e new type o f c h ro m o p h o re am ongst the d ip te ra a n d th e le p id o p te ra suggests th at 3-hyd ro x y -retin al could be a com m on c h a r
acteristic o f th e M eco p tero id ea (M ecoptera.
D iptera, T rich o p te ra , L ep id o p tera) w hich are regarded as a m o n o p h y le tic gro u p [7]. The co m m on ancestors m ay have b ecom e able to split 3- hydroxy-x an th o p h y lls a n d to use the resulting C2 0
fragm ents as ch ro m o p h o re s for th e visual pigm ent.
In extracts o f both fly a n d
Ephestia
eyes hydroxy- x anthophylls (ze ax an th in , lu te in ) could be id e n tified. W hile flies are ab le to hydroxylise /3-carotene (and m a y b e retinal as well) in the 3-position (d e m onstrated by the occu rren ce o f ze ax a n th in an d the in te rm ed ia te m o n o h y d ro x y p ro d u ct, cryptoxanthin.
in flies raised on a p u re ^ -c a ro te n e diet [8]),
Ephestia
a p p a re n tly ca n n o t, since an im als raised on a d ie t co n tain in g ß -c a ro te n e a n d lutein yield only /^-carotene a n d lutein an d no trace o f c ry p to x anthin (even in w hole body extracts). This points to a hydroxy x an th o p h y ll as a necessary p recursor o f the c h ro m o p h o re inEphestia
, a n d fits to the general finding th a t in m ost le p id o p te ra the caro ten o id com position sim ply reflects th a t o f the food [9], H ow ever, to su b sta n tia te the above h y p o th esis th at 3-hydroxy-retinal m ay be a p h ylogenetic m ark er o f th e M ecopteroidea. fu rth e r investigations, particu larly o f the m e co p te ra and tric h o p tera, are required.A eknowledgement
I th a n k Ms G o n n e rt for excellent technical assistance, Prof. K. K irschfeld, Drs. G. M ickoleit.
H. Schm alfuss. a n d R. H ard ie for discussions.
N otizen
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N otizen 197
[1] K. Vogt, Z. f. Naturforsch. 38 c, 3 2 9 -3 3 3 (1983).
[2] K. Vogt and K. Kirschfeld, paper submitted.
[3] J. Scnwemer and H. Langer, in: (ed. L. Packer) Methods in Enzymology, 81. 18 2 -1 9 0 , Academ ic Press. N ew York - London 1982.
[4] R. Paulsen and J. Schwemer, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 2 8 3 ,5 2 0 -5 2 9 (1 9 7 2 ).
[5] M. Briggs. Nature 192, 8 7 4 -8 7 5 (1961).
[6] T. H. Goldsmith, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sei. USA 44, 1 2 3 -1 2 6 (1958).
[7] W. Henning, D ie Stam m esgeschichte der Insekten.
Kramer, Frankfurt 1969.
[8] K Vogt and K Kirschfeld, Verh. Dtsch. Zool. G es., 330, Fischer, Stuttgart - N ew York 1983.
[9] H. Kayser, in: (eds. G. Britton and T. W. G oodw in) Carotenoid Chemistry and Biochemistry, 19 5 -2 1 0 , Pergamon Press, Oxford - N ew York 1982.
