Cerebral extraocular photoreceptors in beetles

Abstract

Cell clusters containing rhabdomeric structures and screening pigments are located in the optic lobes of pupae and adult beetles of Tenebrio molitor and Hylotrupes bajulus. Due to their resemblance with the compound eyes, the cell clusters were called cerebral extraocular photoreceptors (CEPs) and can readily be detected macroscopically as black spots spread between the lamina and medulla. CEPs of T. molitor responded to bright light with a transient depolarisation followed by a sustained plateau. In contrast, CEPs of H. bajulus responded to bright light either with small depolarisations or did not respond to the range of light intensities presented. CEP cells labelled with Lucifer yellow had axons projecting toward the medullar region. The maximum spectral sensitivity of CEPs was broadly tuned to the green region (λ_max at 524 nm). The role of CEPs in insects is still a matter of wide speculation, due to the lack of consistent systematic behavioral studies about insects carrying photoreactive CEPs. Here we suggest that the scattered distribution of CEPs in the optic lobes could allow a temporal pooling of information about the surrounding illumination, thereby entraining some rhythmic photobehavioural responses.