ANI
29 Jun 2022, 06:48 GMT+10
Toronto [Canada], June 29 (ANI): Tadpoles have a good underwater vision, but what happens when they develop into frogs and spend most of their time on land? In quest of the solution, scientists from York University and a number of other institutions discovered that tadpoles' eyes go through an unexpectedly large number of modifications.
The findings of the research were published in the journal 'BMC Biology'.
It's already known that tadpoles go through a physical metamorphosis on their way to becoming a frog, but what wasn't known is how their vision adapts at a molecular level across the life stages to a strikingly different environment.
York University Assistant Professor Ryan Schott, who studies the visual system of vertebrates in the Faculty of Science, along with an international team of researchers, examined the eyes of southern leopard frogs to find out if and how they changed.
"Seeing underwater is not the same as seeing on land. The light underwater can have more of a reddish cast, especially in ponds where many frogs live, while the light on land is bluer. The amount of light is also different underwater versus on land. Animals that see well in one environment will likely not see clearly in the other. We were interested in finding out what changes occur that allow an animal to go from seeing underwater to seeing on land," said Schott, who led the study and is the corresponding author.
"The adaptive decoupling hypothesis proposes that animals that have distinct life stages separated by metamorphosis, like caterpillars to butterflies or tadpoles to frogs, might be more able to adapt to their different environments."The researchers explored changes in gene expression in the eyes of leopard frog tadpoles and juvenile frogs using RNA sequencing, allowing them to see the levels of gene expression, or which genes were turned on in the eyes.
They also used microspectrophotometry to measure whether the photoreceptor cells in the eyes were more sensitive to the redder or bluer parts of the light spectrum at different life stages. These photoreceptor cells send light signals through the retina to the brain and are what allow animals, including humans, to see.
What they found surprised them. "The difference in the gene expression levels that we found in their eyes across the life stages was much higher than expected and a high proportion of them are genes that are directly involved in vision, which was an exciting result," said Schott.
They found that 42 per cent of genes in the eyes of tadpoles changed, and were differentially expressed, and they metamorphosized into a frog.
The team, including researchers from the Smithsonian Institution, Cornell University, The Natural History Museum in London, United Kingdom, the California Academy of Sciences, and the University of Texas at Arlington, also found the genes that control visual function and development, including spectral sensitivity and lens composition, changed the most.
The eyes of tadpoles had shifted and adapted to see better in a bluer light environment as they changed to a juvenile leopard frog - living and seeing on land - compared to the redder light environment of the freshwater habitat they live in as tadpoles. (ANI)Get a daily dose of Calgary Monitor news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Calgary Monitor.
More InformationNEW YORK CITY, New York: Igloo is recalling over a million of its rolling coolers across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada after reports...
(Photo credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images) Friday night lights are coming back to Brazil for the second consecutive season with the Los...
TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Philippine defense officials say they will hold a large, 10-day military training exercise next month, aiming to...
Abu Dhabi [UAE], February 19 (ANI/WAM): UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan today received Marco Rubio, US Secretary of...
(250218) -- KAFR KILA, Feb. 18, 2025 (Xinhua) -- This photo taken on Feb. 18, 2025 shows members of the Lebanese army positioning at...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Igloo is recalling over a million of its rolling coolers across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada after reports...
BERLIN, Germany: A new global corruption survey has revealed a worsening trend in public sector corruption, with many countries recording...
TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Philippine defense officials say they will hold a large, 10-day military training exercise next month, aiming to...
(Photo credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images) Vancouver Canucks forward Drew O'Connor agreed to a two-year, $5 million contract extension...
(Photo credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images) Team USA defenseman Charlie McAvoy was ruled out for Thursday's 4 Nations Face-Off final...
(Photo credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images) Team USA defenseman Charlie McAvoy was ruled out for Thursday's 4 Nations Face-Off final...