Ultrastructural Characteristics and Synaptic Connectivity of Photoreceptors in the Simplex Retina of Little Skate ().

The retinas of the vast majority of vertebrate species are termed "duplex," that is, they contain both rod and cone photoreceptor neurons in different ratios. The retina of little skate () is a rarity among vertebrates because it contains only a single photoreceptor cell type and is thus "simplex." This unique retina provides us with an important comparative model and an exciting opportunity to study retinal circuitry within the context of a visual system with a single photoreceptor cell type.

A dark decrement for enhanced dynamic sensitivity of retinal photoreceptors.

The skate retina provides a native all-rod retina suited for investigating a single type of photoreceptor regarding its properties and signaling to second order cells. Using the aspartate-induced isolated A-wave of the skate eyecup electroretinogram (ERG), it has been shown that adaptation in rods remains Weber-Fechner-like over a 6-log unit increase in background light intensity. Zinc, which can block calcium channels, has been found in the rod synaptic terminal and the synaptic cleft.

Mature Retina Compensates Functionally for Partial Loss of Rod Photoreceptors.

Loss of primary neuronal inputs inevitably strikes every neural circuit. The deafferented circuit could propagate, amplify, or mitigate input loss, thus affecting the circuit's output. How the deafferented circuit contributes to the effect on the output is poorly understood because of lack of control over loss of and access to circuit elements.

A Large Endoplasmic Reticulum-Resident Pool of TRPM1 in Retinal ON-Bipolar Cells.

The chemical signal of light onset, a decrease in glutamate release from rod and cone photoreceptors, is processed by a postsynaptic G protein signaling cascade in ON-bipolar cells (BPCs). The metabotropic glutamate receptor mGluR6, along with other cascade elements, is localized synaptically at the BPC dendritic tips. The effector ion channel protein transient receptor potential melastatin-1 (TRPM1), in contrast, is located not only at the dendritic tips but also in BPC bodies and axons.