Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

Rhodopsin-like sensitivity of extra-retinal photoreceptors mediating the photoperiodic response in quail

Abstract

It has been known for some 50 years that birds use photoreceptors in or near the hypothalamus to mediate the photoperiodic responses that control seasonal breeding1. So far, however, attempts to identify the photopigment by determining an action spectrum have failed1. The problems stem from the selective filtering of light by the tissues surrounding the photoreceptors and the need to deliver defined amounts of light over the days or weeks required to induce a quantitative measure of photostimulation. Here we have developed a technique which produces a quantitative action spectrum for the photoperiodic response in the Japanese quail; the results indicate the presence of a rhodopsin photopigment with a peak sensitivity of 492 nm. The photoreceptors exhibit a level of sensitivity comparable with that of vertebrate visual pigments. We conclude that the brain photoreceptors of birds are based on a rhodopsin/rhodopsin-like photopigment.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Oliver, J. & Baylé, J. D. Experientia 38, 1021–1029 (1982).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Siopes, T. D. & Wilson, W. O. Poultry Sci. 53, 2035–2041 (1974).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Simpson, S. M. & Follett, B. K. J. comp. Physiol. 144, 381–389 (1981).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Homma, K., Ohta, M. & Sakakibara, Y. in Biological Rhythms in Birds (eds Tanake, Y., Tanaka, K. & Ookawa, T.) 149–156 (Springer, Berlin, 1980).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Davies, D. T. & Follett, B. K. Proc. R. Soc. B191, 285–301 (1975).

    ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Hartwig, H.-G. & van Veen, T. J. comp. Physiol. 130, 277–282 (1979).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Knowles, A. & Dartnall, H. J. A. The Photobiology of Vision (Academic, New York, 1977).

    Google Scholar 

  8. McFarland, W. N. & Munz, F. W. in Light as an Ecological Factor Vol. 2 (eds Evans, G.C., Bainbridge, R. & Rackham, O.) (Blackwell Scientific, Oxford, 1975).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Nicholls, T. J., Follett, B. K. & Robinson, J. E. J. Endocr. 97, 121–126 (1983).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Follett, B. K., Scenes, C. G. & Cunningham, F. J. J. Endocr. 52, 359–378 (1972).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Dartnall, H. J. A. in Vision in Fishes (ed. Alis, M. A.) 543–563 (Plenum, New York, 1975).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  12. Land, M. F. in Handbook of Sensory Physiology Vol. 7/6B, Ch. 4, 472–532 (1980).

    Google Scholar 

  13. Lythgoe, J. N. in Environmental Physiology of Fishes (ed. Ali, M. A.) (Plenum, New York, 1980).

    Google Scholar 

  14. Lythgoe, J. N. The Ecology of Vision (Clarendon, Oxford, 1979).

    Google Scholar 

  15. Follett, B. K. & Milette, J. J. J. Endocr. 93, 83–90 (1982).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Ellis, D. H. & Follett, B. K. Biology of Reproduction 29, 805–818 (1983).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Foster, R., Follett, B. & Lythgoe, J. Rhodopsin-like sensitivity of extra-retinal photoreceptors mediating the photoperiodic response in quail. Nature 313, 50–52 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/313050a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/313050a0

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing