photoreceptor cell of Bolwig organ [FBbt_00007253]

Photoreceptor cell that is part of a Bolwig’s organ. Unlike the photoreceptors of the adult eye, eyelet and ocellus, these photoreceptors do not contain rhabdomeres, but instead have apical surfaces which are folded into numerous horizontal microtubule-containing microvillar-like processes (Green et al., 1993; Hartenstein et al., 2019). These processes are variable in length, diameter and spacing, but align approximately along a ventro-anterior to dorso-posterior axis relative to the body and do not branch (Hartenstein et al., 2019). There are around 12 of these cells per hemisphere and their axons enter the brain ventrolaterally via the Bolwig nerve and terminate in the larval optic neuropil (Larderet et al., 2017). There are two mutually exclusive subtypes, expressing Rh5 or Rh6, both of which are cholinergic and are capable of entraining the molecular clock by light (Keene et al., 2011).
photoreceptor cell of Bolwig organ photoreceptor cell of Bolwig organ photoreceptor cell of Bolwig organ photoreceptor cell of Bolwig organ

photoreceptor cell of Bolwig organ

ID: FBbt_00007253

Cholinergic Larva Nervous system Sensory neuron Visual system

Photoreceptor cell that is part of a Bolwig's organ. Unlike the photoreceptors of the adult eye, eyelet and ocellus, these photoreceptors do not contain rhabdomeres, but instead have apical surfaces which are folded into numerous horizontal microtubule-containing microvillar-like processes (Green et al., 1993; Hartenstein et al., 2019). These processes are variable in length, diameter and spacing, but align approximately along a ventro-anterior to dorso-posterior axis relative to the body and do not branch (Hartenstein et al., 2019). There are around 12 of these cells per hemisphere and their axons enter the brain ventrolaterally via the Bolwig nerve and terminate in the larval optic neuropil (Larderet et al., 2017). There are two mutually exclusive subtypes, expressing Rh5 or Rh6, both of which are cholinergic and are capable of entraining the molecular clock by light (Keene et al., 2011).

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## Classification

Relationships

Alternative Names

Synonym Scope Reference
larval photoreceptor neuron exact synonym Larderet et al., 2017
larval PRC exact synonym Hartenstein et al., 2019
photoreceptor cell of Bolwig’s organ exact synonym