Title

All the Better to See You With: A Review of Odonate Color Vision with Transcriptomic Insight into the Odonate Eye

Authors

Seth M. Bybee, Brigham Young University
K. Kaihileipihamekeola Johnson, Brigham Young University
Eben Gering, University of Texas at AustinFollow
Michael F. Whiting, Brigham Young University
Keith A. Crandall, Brigham Young University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-2012

Publication Title

Organisms Diversity & Evolution

Keywords

Mike May Festschrift, Odonata, Vision, Opsins, Color

ISSN

1439-6092

Volume

12

Issue/No.

3

First Page

241

Last Page

250

Abstract

Although dragonflies and damselflies (Insecta: Odonata) represent some of the most advanced visual systems among insects, odonate visual systems are not as well understood as those of model or more economically important insects. Yet, with their large and complex eyes, aquatic and terrestrial life stages, entirely carnivorous lifestyle, exceptional mating behaviors, diversity in coloration, occupancy of diverse light environments, and adult success that is completely dependent on vision, it would seem studying the visual system of Odonata at the molecular level would yield highly rewarding scientific findings related to predator/prey interactions, the physiological and molecular shifts associated with ecological shifts in light environments, and the role of vision on behavioral ecology. Here, we provide a review of odonate color vision. The first odonate opsin sequences are published using a degenerate PCR approach for both dragonfly and damselfly lineages as well as a transcriptome approach for a single species of damselfly. These genetic data are combined with electrophysiology data from odonates to examine genotype/phenotype relationships in this visual system. Using these data, we present the first insights into the evolution and distribution of the visual pigments (opsins) among odonates. The integration of molecular and behavioral studies of odonate vision will help answer long-standing questions about how sensory systems and coloration may coevolve.

Comments

©Gesellschaft für Biologische Systematik 2012

Additional Comments

NSF grant #: MRI-0821728, IOS-1045243

NSUWorks Citation

Bybee, Seth M.; K. Kaihileipihamekeola Johnson; Eben Gering; Michael F. Whiting; and Keith A. Crandall. 2012. "All the Better to See You With: A Review of Odonate Color Vision with Transcriptomic Insight into the Odonate Eye." Organisms Diversity & Evolution 12, (3): 241-250. doi:10.1007/s13127-012-0090-6.

ORCID ID

0000-0002-1270-6727

DOI

10.1007/s13127-012-0090-6