Measures of phototaxis and movement detection in the larval salamander

Phototaxic behavior and the retinotectal transport of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) in surgically created cyclopean salamander larvae (Ambystoma)

Negative phototaxis (NP) was used to evaluate the recovery of vision in albino axolotl larvae with one eye discarded and the other transplanted either to the orbit (orthoclops) or to the top of the head (cyclops). NP was assessed at approximately 1, 2 and 3 months postoperatively, using an automated, infrared monitor. Some 88% of the orthoclopes and 64% of the cyclopes recovered NP. However, among the cyclopes that did recover, the quantitative aspects of NP were virtually the same as those of the orthoclopes. That the cyclopean eye can regenerate retinotectal pathways was established by anterograde tracing of horseradish peroxidase (HRP). But where previously uninjured animals transported HRP to the contralateral tectum, both the cyclopes and the orthoclopes distributed the enzyme to the left and right tectal halves. Heavy deposits of HRP were found in the tecta of some animals that lacked NP. To find out if an optic tectum is actually required for NP, a series of ablation experiments were performed, using Ambystoma punctatum larvae. Tectectomy had the same effect on NP as bilaterally extirpating the eyes or intracranially severing both optic nerves, i.e. removing the tectum abolished NP.

THE RESULTS

(1) confirm the efficacy of the ectopic eye in the cyclops preparation; (2) show that the ectopic eye can regenerate retinotectal pathways; (3) indicate that retinotectal contact is a necessary but insufficient condition for NP.