ISSN:
1432-0878
Keywords:
Pineal complex (pineal and parapineal organs)
;
Development, ontogenetic
;
Photoreceptor cells
;
Immunohistochemistry
;
Serotonin (5-HT)
;
Opsin
;
Teleost (Gasterosteus aculeatus)
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
Notes:
Summary 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT, serotonin)- and opsin-immunoreactive sites were studied in the developing pineal complex of the stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus L., by use of light-microscopic indirect immunoperoxidase techniques. 5-HT immunoreactivity first occurs in the pineal organ at the age of 80 h after fertilization and appears to be localized in cells of the photoreceptor type. The outer segments of a few pineal photosensory cells exhibit opsin immunoreactivity at the age of 84 h after fertilization. The number of cells seems to increase until the pineal organ is completely developed. The increase in the number of 5-HT immunoreactive perikarya runs parallel in time to that of the opsinimmunoreactive outer segments. The cells of the parapineal organ show neither opsin nor 5-HT immunoreactivity. The retina of the embryonic stickleback does not display opsin immunoreactivity until after hatching, which takes place about 144 h after fertilization. These results suggest, in the three-spined stickleback, an earlier light-perception capacity for the developing pineal organ than for the retina.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00228440
