Event Abstract Back to Event Age-associated changes in the metabolic apparatus and electrical parameters of Calliphora vicina photoreceptors Jerneja Rudolf1*, Andrej Meglič1, Gregor Belušič1 and Gregor Zupančič1 1 Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Department of Biology, Slovenia The physiology of neural tissue is greatly shaped by information processing efficiency vs. energy cost trade-offs. A good model for studies of energy demands with respect to sensory performance is the insect eye due to its relatively simple repetitive structure and easiness of genetic manipulation (e.g. Niven et al., 2007). In our study we examined the metabolic and electrical properties of Calliphora vicina (white-eyed strain chalky) photoreceptors with respect to their ontogenetic plasticity. We employed in vivo spectrophotometric measurements (Zupančič, 2003) to asses the metabolic activity of mitochondria in blowfly photoreceptors. By analyzing the differential absorption spectra recorded from the eyes under normoxic and anoxic conditions we estimated the dynamic range of redox states of electron transport chain components (haems in cytochromes: a, a3, b and c). We found that the range of redox states increased with post-eclosion age in all studied haems. The largest change was found in the first week. We attributed the change mostly to the changes in cytochromes’ (Cyt) concentration, which we confirmed by biochemical analysis of the Cyt c content in isolated retinal mitochondria in flies of different age. The results were in good agreement with our spectrophotometric measurements, showing a 5-fold increase in Cyt c concentration in the first two weeks post eclosion. Long-term light adaptation profoundly influenced the performance of mitochondria. The changes in haems’ dynamic redox range were significantly smaller in dark-bred animals (e.g. 2.9-fold increase for haem c in the first two weeks) compared to animals bred under 12/12h day/night cycle (4.8-fold increase).This implies that lower metabolic load results in smaller ontogenetic changes in the metabolic capacity of the photoreceptors. The maintenance of ion gradients over the membrane was shown to be the primary energy sink in the insect photoreceptors (Laughlin et al., 1998). Thus, we expected the plasticity of photoreceptors’ electrical properties to follow a similar ontogenetic time course as the one observed in the mitochondrial apparatus. We employed single electrode voltage- and current-clamp to compare the electrical parameters (cell resistance and capacitance) of blowfly photoreceptors at different age and rearing conditions. We observed significant differences in resting cell capacitance between age groups with a peak at 2 weeks after eclosion, but small changes in the resting conductance of photoreceptor cells. Our findings indicate the existence of relevant age related changes in both studied aspects of the photoreceptor’s functionality. References Laughlin SB, van Steveninck RRD, Anderson JC. (1998) The metabolic cost of neural information. Nature Neuroscience 1(1):36-41. Niven JE, Anderson JC, Laughlin SB. (2007) Fly photoreceptors demonstrate energy-information trade-offs in neural coding. Plos Biology 5(4):828-840. Zupancic G. (2003) A method for dynamic spectrophotometric measurements in vivo using principal component analysis-based spectral deconvolution. Pflugers Archiv-European Journal of Physiology 447(1):109-119. Keywords: Photoreceptor Cells, Invertebrate, Calliphora vicina, Spectrophotometry, ontogenesis, Mitochondria, Cytochromes, capactance Conference: International Conference on Invertebrate Vision, Fjälkinge, Sweden, 1 Aug - 8 Aug, 2013. Presentation Type: Poster presentation preferred Topic: Transduction, signalling and coding Citation: Rudolf J, Meglič A, Belušič G and Zupančič G (2019). Age-associated changes in the metabolic apparatus and electrical parameters of Calliphora vicina photoreceptors. Front. Physiol. Conference Abstract: International Conference on Invertebrate Vision. doi: 10.3389/conf.fphys.2013.25.00028 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 28 Feb 2013; Published Online: 09 Dec 2019. * Correspondence: Ms. Jerneja Rudolf, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Department of Biology, Ljubljana, 1000, Slovenia, jerneja.rudolf@bf.uni-lj.si Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Jerneja Rudolf Andrej Meglič Gregor Belušič Gregor Zupančič Google Jerneja Rudolf Andrej Meglič Gregor Belušič Gregor Zupančič Google Scholar Jerneja Rudolf Andrej Meglič Gregor Belušič Gregor Zupančič PubMed Jerneja Rudolf Andrej Meglič Gregor Belušič Gregor Zupančič Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.