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Rhodopsin-like photosensitivity of isolated chicken pineal gland

Nature volume 290, pages 706–707 (1981)Cite this article

Abstract

The pineal gland of lower vertebrates such as fish, amphibians and reptiles is primarily a photoreceptor organ and its electrical activity changes in response to environmental lighting1–3, whereas the mammalian pineal gland is a secretory organ and no longer responds to direct illumination. It is uncertain whether the avian pineal gland retains a photoreceptive capability4–8, and also whether the gland is a photosensor involved in the photo-periodic control of reproductive systems and circadian rhythms in birds9–14. Recently, I and other workers have shown that the circadian rhythm of serotonin N-acetyltransferase activity persisted in organ cultures of chicken pineals, indicating the presence of an endogenous circadian oscillator in the gland15–19. Also, the observation that direct illumination of cultured chicken pineals suppressed the night-time increase of N-acetyl-transferase activity16,20 suggests that the gland contains a photoreceptor. I report here that the action spectrum of the photosensitivity of the isolated chicken pineal resembles the absorption spectrum of rhodopsin.

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  1. Department of Medical Chemistry, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Neurosciences, 2-6 Musashidai, Fuchu-city, Tokyo, 183, Japan

    Takeo Deguchi

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Deguchi, T. Rhodopsin-like photosensitivity of isolated chicken pineal gland. Nature 290, 706–707 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/290706a0

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