PUBLICATION
Plasticity for colour adaptation in vertebrates explained by the evolution of the genes pomc, pmch and pmchl
- Authors
- Bertolesi, G.E., Zhijia Zhang, J., McFarlane, S.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-190223-10
- Date
- 2019
- Source
- Pigment cell & melanoma research 32(4): 510-527 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Bertolesi, Gabriel, McFarlane, Sarah
- Keywords
- MCH1, MCH2, camouflage, chromatophore, feeding, hormone, melanin concentrating hormone, melanocyte, neuron, pigmentation
- MeSH Terms
-
- Adaptation, Physiological*
- Amino Acid Sequence
- Animals
- Axons/metabolism
- Conserved Sequence/genetics
- Evolution, Molecular*
- HEK293 Cells
- Hormones/metabolism
- Humans
- Phylogeny
- Pro-Opiomelanocortin/chemistry
- Pro-Opiomelanocortin/genetics*
- Skin Pigmentation/genetics*
- Xenopus/genetics*
- Xenopus/physiology
- Xenopus Proteins/chemistry
- Xenopus Proteins/genetics*
- Zebrafish/genetics*
- Zebrafish/physiology
- Zebrafish Proteins/chemistry
- Zebrafish Proteins/genetics*
- PubMed
- 30791235 Full text @ Pigment Cell Melanoma Res.
Citation
Bertolesi, G.E., Zhijia Zhang, J., McFarlane, S. (2019) Plasticity for colour adaptation in vertebrates explained by the evolution of the genes pomc, pmch and pmchl. Pigment cell & melanoma research. 32(4):510-527.
Abstract
Different camouflages work best with some background matching colour. Our understanding of the evolution of skin colour is based mainly on the genetics of pigmentation ('background matching'), with little known about the evolution of the neuroendocrine systems that facilitate 'background adaptation' through colour phenotypic plasticity. To address the latter, we studied the evolution in vertebrates of three genes, pomc, pmch and pmchl, that code for α-MSH and two Melanin Concentrating Hormones (MCH and MCHL). These hormones induce either dispersion/aggregation or the synthesis of pigments. We find that α-MSH is highly conserved during evolution, as is its role in dispersing/synthetizing pigments. Also conserved is the three-exon pmch gene that encodes MCH, which participates in feeding behaviours. In contrast, pmchl (known previously as pmch), is a teleost specific intron-less gene. Our data indicate that in zebrafish, pmchl-expressing neurons extend axons to the pituitary, supportive of an MCHL hormonal role, whereas zebrafish and Xenopus pmch+ neurons send axons dorsally in the brain. The evolution of these genes, and acquisition of hormonal status for MCHL, explain different mechanisms used by vertebrates to background adapt. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping