Dependency on light and vitamin A derivatives of the biogenesis of 3-hydroxyretinal and visual pigment in the compound eyes of Drosophila melanogaster.

When the fruitfly, Drosophila melanogaster, was reared on media deficient in carotenoids and retinoids, the level of 3-hydroxyretinal (the chromophore of fly rhodopsin) in the retina decreased to less than 1% compared with normal flies. The level of 3-hydroxyretinal increased markedly in flies that were given a diet supplemented with retinoids or carotenoids. The retinas of flies fed on all-trans retinoids and maintained in the dark predominantly contained the all-trans form of 3-hydroxyretinal, and showed no increase in the level of either the 11-cis isomer or the visual pigment. Subsequent illumination of the flies converted substantial amounts of all-trans 3-hydroxyretinal to its 11-cis isomer. The action spectrum of the conversion by illumination showed the optimum wavelength to be approximately 420 nm, which is significantly greater than the absorption maximum of free, all-trans 3-hydroxyretinal. Flies that were fed on carotenoids showed a rapid increase of the levels of 11-cis 3-hydroxyretinal and of visual pigment in the absence of light.