title: Rod pigment and rod noise in the European toad Bufo bufo.
abstract: Behavioural experiments and ganglion cell recordings indicate that the visual sensitivity of dark-adapted toads is limited by the occurrence of spontaneous isomerization-like noise events in the rods. The frequency of these "false photons" has previously been studied (with micropipette recording) in the toad species Bufo marinus, while the behavioural thresholds were determined using Bufo bufo toads. Thus, it was necessary to check that the noise event frequency is roughly the same in these two species. Here we show that it is, in both species, close to 0.02 events per second and rod (at 22 degrees C). Using microspectrophotometry we further show that the absorption spectra of these two rhodopsins are very similar, peaking around 503.3 and 501.8 nm for B. marinus and B. bufo, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosciences, University of Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fyhrquist
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Govardovskii
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Leibrock
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Reuter
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002023:Bufo bufo / Q000502:physiology*; D002024:Bufo marinus; D003623:Dark Adaptation; D015591:Microspectrophotometry; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012165:Retinal Ganglion Cells / Q000502:physiology; D012168:Retinal Pigments / Q000737:chemistry*; D017948:Retinal Rod Photoreceptor Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D012684:Sensory Thresholds / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D012168:Retinal Pigments