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. 2012 Jan 7;279(1726):58-66.
doi: 10.1098/rspb.2011.0765. Epub 2011 May 18.

Candidate genes for carotenoid coloration in vertebrates and their expression profiles in the carotenoid-containing plumage and bill of a wild bird

N Walsh  1 , J Dale, K J McGraw, M A Pointer, N I Mundy
Affiliations

Candidate genes for carotenoid coloration in vertebrates and their expression profiles in the carotenoid-containing plumage and bill of a wild bird

N Walsh et al. Proc Biol Sci. .

Abstract

Carotenoid-based coloration has attracted much attention in evolutionary biology owing to its role in honest, condition-dependent signalling. Knowledge of the genetic pathways that regulate carotenoid coloration is crucial for an understanding of any trade-offs involved. We identified genes with potential roles in carotenoid coloration in vertebrates via (i) carotenoid uptake (SR-BI, CD36), (ii) binding and deposition (StAR1, MLN64, StAR4, StAR5, APOD, PLIN, GSTA2), and (iii) breakdown (BCO2, BCMO1). We examined the expression of these candidate loci in carotenoid-coloured tissues and several control tissues of the red-billed quelea (Quelea quelea), a species that exhibits a male breeding plumage colour polymorphism and sexually dimorphic variation in bill colour. All of the candidate genes except StAR1 were expressed in both the plumage and bill of queleas, indicating a potential role in carotenoid coloration in the quelea. However, no differences in the relative expression of any of the genes were found among the quelea carotenoid phenotypes, suggesting that other genes control the polymorphic and sexually dimorphic variation in carotenoid coloration observed in this species. Our identification of a number of potential carotenoid genes in different functional categories provides a critical starting point for future work on carotenoid colour regulation in vertebrate taxa.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Plumage and bill colour variation in the red-billed quelea. Throughout their non-breeding season, queleas are sexually monomorphic. Female queleas lose the carotenoid coloration of their bare body parts prior to the breeding season, while breeding males retain this coloration and also moult into a bright nuptial plumage that is polymorphic for both breast colour that varies from red to buff and for face colour that varies from white to black. Flank feathers, used here as controls, never contain carotenoids in any male plumage.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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