RUI: Fuctional Development of an Insect Visual System

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Vision involves capturing the energy of light by photopigment molecules in the eye; these photopigments are incorporated into elaborate membrane structures within photoreceptor cells. These membranes often show high rates of turnover during time, and the mechanisms remain unclear for how these organized membranes, incorporating high amounts of photopigment proteins, are formed and regulated. This project uses as a model system the compound eye of an insect, the moth Manduca. This organism is already a model for developmental and physiological studies. The pathway and regulation of membrane assembly and photopigment insertion can be separated experimentally. Ultrastructural, biochemical, immunocytochemical, and electrophysiological techniques will be used for examining the mechanisms and significance of turnover in this nocturnal insect with a complex visual system. This Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) project with a novel approach will have an impact on visual science, and also will be important for its impact on training undergraduates in modern neuroscience.