Accommodation behaviour during prey capture in the vietnamese leaf turtle (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Geoemyda spengleri</Emphasis>)

Vietnamese leaf turtles (Geoemyda spengleri) were tested for their ability to focus on prey objects at various distances. Accommodation was continuously measured by infrared photoretinoscopy. All animals investigated during this study showed a surprisingly high precision of accommodation over a range of over 30 D. Measured accommodation matched the target distance accurately for distances between 3 and 17 cm. The turtles switched between independent and coupled accommodation in the two eyes. Independent accommodation was observed when the turtles inspected their environment visually without a defined object of interest. Coupled accommodation was only observed during binocular prey fixation. When a turtle aimed at a target, the symmetrical focus of both eyes persisted even if vision was totally blocked in one eye or altered by ophthalmic lenses. This suggests that the eyes were linked by internal neuronal mechanisms. The pupil of the eye responded clearly to changes in ambient light intensity. A strong decrease in pupil size was also observed when the eye was focused on a close target. In this case, the constriction of the pupil probably aids in the deformation of the eye lens during near-accommodation.     

Multifocal lenses compensate for chromatic defocus in vertebrate eyes

The focal length of the vertebrate eye is a function of wavelength, i.e. the eye suffers from longitudinal chromatic aberration. Chromatic defocus is a particularly severe problem in eyes with high light-gathering ability, since depth of field is small due to a pupillary opening that is large in relation to the focal length of the eye. Calculations show that in such eyes only a narrow spectral band of light can be in focus on the retina. For the major part of the visual spectrum, spatial resolution should be limited by the optics of the eye and far lower than the resolving power achievable by the retinal cone photoreceptor mosaic. To solve this problem, fishes with irises unresponsive to light have developed lenses with multiple focal lengths. Well-focused images are created at the wavelengths of maximum absorbance of all spectral cone types. Multifocal lenses also appear to be present in some terrestrial species. In eyes with mobile irises, multifocal lenses are correlated with pupil shapes that allow all zones of the lens, with different refractive powers, to participate in the imaging process, irrespective of the state of pupil constriction. Accepted: 6 November 1998     

Pupil size in spider eyes is linked to post-ecdysal lens growth

In this study we describe a distinctive pigment ring that appears in spider eyes after ecdysis and successively decreases in size in the days thereafter. Although pigment stops in spider eyes are well known, size variability is, to our knowledge, reported here for the first time. Representative species from three families (Ctenidae, Sparassidae and Lycosidae) are investigated and, for one of these species (Cupiennius salei, Ctenidae), the progressive increase in pupil diameter is monitored. In this species the pupil occupies only a fourth of the total projected lens surface after ecdysis and reaches its final size after approximately ten days. MicroCT images suggest that the decrease of the pigment ring is linked to the growth of the corneal lens after ecdysis. The pigment rings might improve vision in the immature eye by shielding light rays that would otherwise enter the eye via peripheral regions of the cornea, beside the growing crystalline lens.     

Short term optical defocus perturbs normal developmental shifts in retina/RPE protein abundance

Background

Myopia (short-sightedness) affects approximately 1.4 billion people worldwide, and prevalence is increasing. Animal models induced by defocusing lenses show striking similarity with human myopia in terms of morphology and the implicated genetic pathways. Less is known about proteome changes in animals. Thus, the present study aimed to improve understanding of protein pathway responses to lens defocus, with an emphasis on relating expression changes to no lens control development and identifying bidirectional and/or distinct pathways across myopia and hyperopia (long-sightedness) models.

Results

Quantitative label-free proteomics and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) were used to examine protein pathway expression in the retina/RPE of chicks following 6 h and 48 h of myopia induction with ??10 dioptre (D) lenses, hyperopia induction with +10D lenses, or normal no lens rearing. Seventy-one pathways linked to cell development and neuronal maturation were differentially enriched between 6 and 48 h in no lens chicks. The majority of these normal developmental changes were disrupted by lens-wear (47 of 71 pathways), however, only 11 pathways displayed distinct expression profiles across the lens conditions. Most notably, negative lens-wear induced up-regulation of proteins involved in ATP-driven ion transport, calcium homeostasis, and GABA signalling between 6 and 48 h, while the same proteins were down-regulated over time in normally developing chicks. Glutamate and bicarbonate/chloride transporters were also down-regulated over time in normally developing chicks, and positive lens-wear inhibited this down-regulation.

Conclusions

The chick retina/RPE proteome undergoes extensive pathway expression shifts during normal development. Most of these pathways are further disrupted by lens-wear. The identified expression patterns suggest close interactions between neurotransmission (as exemplified by increased GABA receptor and synaptic protein expression), cellular ion homeostasis, and associated energy resources during myopia induction. We have also provided novel evidence for changes to SLC-mediated transmembrane transport during hyperopia induction, with potential implications for signalling at the photoreceptor-bipolar synapse. These findings reflect a key role for perturbed neurotransmission and ionic homeostasis in optically-induced refractive errors, and are predicted by our Retinal Ion Driven Efflux (RIDE) model.

     

The refractive development of the eye of the American kestrel (Falco sparverius): a new avian model

Summary Most measures of avian visual performance are carried out on commonly available domestic species such as the chicken, and most of the data on avian induced refractive error deals with chickens. Raptors are predatory birds in which good visual resolving ability is particularly important. Behavioral studies indicate that the eyes of raptors have two to three times the resolving ability of the human eye. The domestic chicken is precocial at hatching whereas most raptors are semi-altricial. This study was an effort to determine if the effect of early visual deprivation on the refractive development of the chicken eye can be reproduced in the American kestrel, a species which is not domesticated and in which the need for acute vision is particularly important.Visual deprivation was achieved by unilaterally applying translucent plastic goggles over the eyes of kestrels two days after hatching. Refractive error was measured using a retinoscope and trial lenses. Ocular growth was monitored by A-scan ultrasonography, and frozen ocular sections of sacrificed birds. The effect of the experimental manipulation on the contralateral control eye and body weight was evaluated each day over a 42-day period. The goggles did not significantly affect the normal changes in body weight or the normal pattern of ocular growth and refractive development in the untreated eyes. An analysis of the refractive state changes as a result of form deprivation was made each week for 6 weeks after hatching on both the treated and untreated eyes in a separate group of experimental birds. Visual form deprivation caused a significant myopic shift in refractive error and a significant increase in the vitreous chamber depth in the treated eyes at 3 and 6 weeks of age. However, the amount of myopia produced is much less than that induced in chicks, and in certain cases hyperopia is produced. The kestrels recover from myopia and hyperopia within 10 days of goggle removal, after 3 to 4 weeks of deprivation.This study is the first indication that chickens may not be a representative bird model for studying form deprivation myopia. First, myopia is not always produced in kestrels in response to form deprivation. Second, kestrels are severely myopic at hatching and therefore, the direction of emmetropization is opposite to that found in hatchling chicks.     

A Focus on the Optical Properties of the Regenerated Newt Lens

Lens regeneration studies in the adult newt suggest that molecular aspects of lens regeneration are complete within 5 weeks of lentectomy. However, very little is known about the optical properties of the regenerated lens. In an aquatic environment, the lens accounts for almost all of the refractive power of the eye, and thus, a fully functional lens is critical. We compared the optical properties of 9- and 26-week regenerated lenses in the red spotted newt, Notophthalmus viridescens, with the original lenses removed from the same eyes. At 9 weeks, the regenerated lenses are smaller than the original lenses and are histologically immature, with a lower density of lens proteins. The 9 week lenses have greater light transmission, but significantly reduced focal length and refractive index than the original lenses. This suggests that following 9 weeks of regeneration, the lenses have not recovered the functionality of the original lens. By 26 weeks, the transmission of light in the more mature lens is reduced, but the optical parameters of the lens have recovered enough to allow functional vision.     

Chick eye optics: zero to fourteen days

Ocular dimensions and refractive state data for chicks 0 to 14 days of age were obtained from 234 untreated control eyes of birds treated unilaterally in previous work involving various defocussing lenses and/or translucent goggles. Refractive state and corneal curvatures were measured in vivo by retinoscopy and ophthalmometry respectively. Intraocular dimensions were measured by A-scan ultrasonography, after which the eyes were removed, weighed and measured. In some cases (n=52) intraocular dimensions and lens curvatures were obtained from frozen sections of enucleated eyes. The hyperopia of hatchling chicks (+6.5+4.0 D) initially decreases rapidly and then more gradually to + 2.0 ± 0.5 D by 16 days. The distribution of refractive errors is very broad at Day 0, but becomes leptokurtotic, with a slight myopic skew, by Day 14. Corneal radius is constant for the first four days, possible as a result of pre-hatching lid pressure, and then increases linearly, as do all lens dimensions, axial diameter and equatorial diameter. Schematic eyes were developed for Days 0, 7, and 14.     

Measurement of Myopia and Normal Human Choroidal Thickness Using Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography

Myopia is a common ophthalmic deficiency. The structure and function of choroid layer is assumed to be associated with myopia. In this study, a laboratory developed spectral domain optical coherence tomography scanning system is used to image human eyes. The axial resolution of the system is about 7 μm, and the acquisition rate is 100 kHz. Firstly, a cross-sectional image was acquired by averaging 100 images from imaging posterior segment of each eye. The choroid thickness was measured by 11 discrete points. The average thickness of normal human eyes was (0.296 ± 0.126) mm, whereas the average choroid thickness of myopic eyes was (0.220 ± 0.095) mm. Afterwards, the T test is used to calculate the data statistically. The analysis of the final result is based on the average thickness measured and the thickness of each measuring point. There was a significant difference in choroid thickness between myopia and normal eyes (P value < 0.01), which indicates that the choroid thickness of myopia was significantly thinner than that of normal eyes. Besides, there are findings that the choroidal thickness in nasal side is thinner than that in the fovea and temporal side in each eye. The choroidal thickness on temporal side in myopia eye has the most significant difference comparing with that in normal eye. The comprehensive evaluation of myopia and normal choroidal thickness using spectral domain optical coherence tomography may provide an important reference for the development of medical methods for diagnosis and treatment of myopia.     

The unusual visual system of the Strepsiptera: external eye and neuropils

Adult males of the insect order Strepsiptera are characterized by an unusual visual system that may use design principles from compound as well as simple eyes. The lenses of this eye are unusually large and focus images onto extended retinae. The light-gathering ability of the lens is sufficient to resolve multiple points of an image in each optical unit. We regard each unit as an independent image-forming eye that contributes an inverted partial image. Each partial image is re-inverted by optic chiasmata between the retinae and the lamina, where the complete image could be assembled from the neighboring units. The lamina, medulla and lobula are present, but their organization into cartridges is not clearly discernable. Fluorescent fills, whole-tissue stains, and synaptotagmin immunohistochemistry show that the optic neuropils nevertheless are densely packed, and that several parallel channels within the medulla underlie each of the lenses. The size and shape of the rhabdoms, as well as a relatively slow flicker-fusion frequency could suggest that these eyes evolved through a nocturnal life stage.Abbreviations O object size - U object distance - I image size - f focal length - A lens aperture - D lens diameter - interommatidial angle - S light sensitivity of optical system     

BMP-2 Is Involved in Scleral Remodeling in Myopia Development

The development of myopia is associated with scleral remodeling, but it is unclear which factors regulate this process. This study investigated bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) expression in the sclera of guinea pigs with lens-induced myopia (LIM) and after recovery from myopia and evaluated the effect of BMP-2 on extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis in human scleral fibroblasts (HSFs) cultured in vitro. Lens-induced myopia was brought about in two groups of guinea pigs (the lens-induced myopia and myopia recovery groups) by placing -4.00 D lenses on the right eye for three weeks. The left eye served as a contralateral control. In the recovery group, the lenses were removed after one week. The refractive power and axial length of the eyes were measured, and the BMP-2 expression levels in the sclera were measured. After three weeks, the lens-induced eyes acquired relative myopia in both groups of guinea pigs. Immunostaining of the eyeballs revealed significantly decreased BMP-2 expression in the posterior sclera of the myopic eyes compared to the contralateral eyes. One week after lens removal, BMP-2 expression recovered, and no differences were observed between the experimental and contralateral eyes in the recovery group. HSFs were cultured with BMP-2 or transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1). Type I and type III collagen synthesis was significantly up-regulated following BMP-2 treatment in culture after one and two weeks, but the ratio of type III to type I collagen mRNA was not increased. Biosynthesis of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) and aggrecan was increased in HSFs treated with BMP-2. Some chondrogenesis-associated genes expression increased in HSFs treated with BMP-2. From this study, we concluded that BMP-2 is involved in scleral remodeling in the development and recovery of lens-induced myopia.     

Inhibition of Lens Regeneration by Nickel Subsulfide in the Japanese Common Newt, Cynops pyrrhogaster

To investigate the effects of nickel subsulfide (Ni₃S₂) on lens regeneration, Ni₃S₂ was administered to the lentectomized newt eye by a single injection into the eye chamber. Lens regeneration was inhibited in the early stage of regeneration with about 60% of the treated eyes after 25 days, while all control eyes had a regenerating lens. The size of the regenerating lens in the treated eyes was the same as in controls. Lens regeneration was inhibited in all treated eyes containing Ni₃S₂ particles within the eye chamber. Inhibition of lens regeneration in the treated eyes was about 80% at 3 months, when all control eyes had already completed lens regeneration. Although the tendency toward pupil disappearance was prominent in the eyes having no regenerating lens, there were also a few eyes which had no regenerating lens and no signs of pupil disappearance. The significance of these results was discussed in relation to the regeneration and carcinogenesis.     

Colour in the eyes of insects

Many insect species have darkly coloured eyes, but distinct colours or patterns are frequently featured. A number of exemplary cases of flies and butterflies are discussed to illustrate our present knowledge of the physical basis of eye colours, their functional background, and the implications for insect colour vision. The screening pigments in the pigment cells commonly determine the eye colour. The red screening pigments of fly eyes and the dorsal eye regions of dragonflies allow stray light to photochemically restore photoconverted visual pigments. A similar role is played by yellow pigment granules inside the photoreceptor cells which function as a light-controlling pupil. Most insect eyes contain black screening pigments which prevent stray light to produce background noise in the photoreceptors. The eyes of tabanid flies are marked by strong metallic colours, due to multilayers in the corneal facet lenses. The corneal multilayers in the gold-green eyes of the deer fly Chrysops relictus reduce the lens transmission in the orange-green, thus narrowing the sensitivity spectrum of photoreceptors having a green absorbing rhodopsin. The tapetum in the eyes of butterflies probably enhances the spectral sensitivity of proximal long-wavelength photoreceptors. Pigment granules lining the rhabdom fine-tune the sensitivity spectra.     

A chiton uses aragonite lenses to form images

Hundreds of ocelli are embedded in the dorsal shell plates of certain chitons. These ocelli each contain a pigment layer, retina, and lens, but it is unknown whether they provide chitons with spatial vision. It is also unclear whether chiton lenses are made from proteins, like nearly all biological lenses, or from some other material. Electron probe X-ray microanalysis and X-ray diffraction revealed that the chiton Acanthopleura granulata has the first aragonite lenses ever discovered. We found that these lenses allow A. granulata's ocelli to function as small camera eyes with an angular resolution of about 9°-12°. Animals responded to the sudden appearance of black, overhead circles with an angular size of 9°, but not to equivalent, uniform decreases in the downwelling irradiance. Our behavioral estimates of angular resolution were consistent with estimates derived from focal length and receptor spacing within the A. granulata eye. Behavioral trials further indicated that A. granulata's eyes provide the same angular resolution in both air and water. We propose that one of the two refractive indices of the birefringent chiton lens places a focused image on the retina in air, whereas the other does so in water.     

A fibrous membrane suspends the multifocal lens in the eyes of lampreys and African lungfishes

The sharpness and thus information content of the retinal image in the eye depends on the optical quality of the lens and its accurate positioning in the eye. Multifocal lenses create well‐focused color images and are present in the eyes of all vertebrate groups studied to date (mammals, reptiles including birds, amphibians, and ray‐finned fishes) and occur even in lampreys, i.e., the most basal vertebrates with well‐developed eyes. Results from photoretinoscopy obtained in this study indicate that the Dipnoi (lungfishes), i.e., the closest piscine relatives to tetrapods, also possess multifocal lenses. Suspension of the lens is complex and sophisticated in teleosts (bony fishes) and tetrapods. We studied lens suspension using light and electron microscopy in one species of lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis) and two species of African lungfish (Protopterus aethiopicus aethiopicus and Protopterus annectens annectens). A fibrous and highly transparent membrane suspends the lens in both of these phylogenetically widely separated vertebrate groups. The membrane attaches to the lens approximately along the lens equator, from where it extends to the ora retinalis. The material forming the membrane is similar in ultrastructure to microfibrils in the zonule fibers of tetrapods. The membrane, possibly in conjunction with the cornea, iris, and vitreous body, seems suitable for keeping the lens in the correct position for well‐focused imaging. Suspension of the lens by a multitude of zonule fibers in tetrapods may have evolved from a suspensory membrane similar to that in extant African lungfishes, a structure that seems to have appeared first in the lamprey‐like ancestors of allextant vertebrates. J. Morphol. 271:980–989, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

GROWTH OF LENS AND OCULAR ENVIRONMENT: ROLE OF NEURAL RETINA IN THE GROWTH OF MOUSE LENS AS REVEALED BY AN IMPLANTATION EXPERIMENT

The lens of 6-day-old normal mouse was implanted into the lentectomized eye of adult mouse to examine the effect of retina upon the growth of the implanted lens in vivo. The implanted lens grew normally and its transparency was kept for more than 5 months after implantation. The connection between the implanted lens and the ciliary part of the recipient iris was well established with the regeneration of zonular fibers from the recipient. In young lenses implanted reversely into adult eyes, the epithelial cells facing the retina elongated and a new epithelium was formed on the corneal side of the lens within 5 days. Young lenses implanted either in normal or reverse orientation into eyes from which the retina was previously removed did not grow. The cells of the original lens epithelium of these lenses were randomly accumulated beneath the posterior lens capsule, while the anterior portion of the implanted lenses became an epithelial structure without cell elongation. These results suggest that the growth of the implanted lens may be dependent on the retina of the adult eye.     

复眼透镜光学信息保密编码及译码的研究——Ⅰ.昆虫复眼成像特性及编、译码技术原理

本文根据光学并列型和光学重叠型两类昆虫复眼的屈光系统,具有分解和综合二维图像的光学特性,提出了一种新的用复眼透镜实现二维图像光学信息编码和译码的技术原理.利用复眼透镜和一个特制的随机抽样编码的掩模板,可将一幅有序的二维图像(或者文献、资料等)编码形成为一幅无序的,具有良好保密性能的分解编码像,而且,还能将此编码像反演综合再现出原始图像.它不仅实现了对二维图像信息的多通道并行处理,而且还具有传输量大、速度快、保密性强等优点.我们利用此种复眼透镜光学信息编、译码的技术原理,对二维图像的光学信息进行了分解编码记录及综合译码再现.     

复眼透镜光学信息保密编码及译码的研究——Ⅰ.昆虫复眼成像特性及编、译码技术原理

本文根据光学并列型和光学重叠型两类昆虫复眼的屈光系统,具有分解和综合二维图像的光学特性,提出了一种新的用复眼透镜实现二维图像光学信息编码和译码的技术原理.利用复眼透镜和一个特制的随机抽样编码的掩模板,可将一幅有序的二维图像(或者文献、资料等)编码形成为一幅无序的,具有良好保密性能的分解编码像,而且,还能将此编码像反演综合再现出原始图像.它不仅实现了对二维图像信息的多通道并行处理,而且还具有传输量大、速度快、保密性强等优点.我们利用此种复眼透镜光学信息编、译码的技术原理,对二维图像的光学信息进行了分解编码记录及综合译码再现.