Light stimulates the incorporation of inositol into phosphatidylinositol in the retina.

The incorporation of [3H]inositol into phosphatidylinositol in retinas of Xenopus laevis tadpoles or young adults in short-term organ culture is stimulated by light, compared to retinas maintained under identical conditions in darkness. Over 95% of the label incorporated into lipid was in phosphatidylinositol, and none was incorporated into retinal proteins. The stimulation of incorporation was localized by autoradiography to the outer plexiform layer, a neurophil composed primarily of horizontal cell processes.