Can a Flea See? An Investigation of Flea Opsin (Flopsin)

Authors

Sean David Taylor, Brigham Young University
Dr. Michael F. Whiting, Brigham Young University

Keywords

sea flea, visual pigments, Flopsin

College

Life Sciences

Department

Biology

Abstract

Visual pigments are responsible for conferring visual perceptual abilities to animals. Various pigments are tuned to absorb light of different wavelengths and to provide contrast and movement perception. All pigments consist of an opsin protein and a chromophore molecule, usually a carotene derivative. Interactions between the chromophore and amino acid residues of opsin fine-tune visual pigments for the absorption of different wavelengths. Opsin variants can tune visual pigments to absorb wavelengths in the ultraviolet, blue, green, and red regions of the spectrum (Briscoe and Chittka 2001).

Recommended Citation

Taylor, Sean David and Whiting, Dr. Michael F. (2013) "Can a Flea See? An Investigation of Flea Opsin (Flopsin)," Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 2013: Iss. 1, Article 992.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/jur/vol2013/iss1/992