TY - JOUR
T1 - Exploring visual plasticity
T2 - dietary carotenoids can change color vision in guppies (Poecilia reticulata)
AU - Sandkam, Benjamin A.
AU - Deere-Machemer, Kerry A.
AU - Johnson, Ashley M.
AU - Grether, Gregory F.
AU - Helen Rodd, F.
AU - Fuller, Rebecca C.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.
PY - 2016/7/1
Y1 - 2016/7/1
N2 - Differences in color vision can play a key role in an organism’s ability to perceive and interact with the environment across a broad range of taxa. Recently, species have been shown to vary in color vision across populations as a result of differences in regulatory sequence and/or plasticity of opsin gene expression. For decades, biologists have been intrigued by among-population variation in color-based mate preferences of female Trinidadian guppies. We proposed that some of this variation results from variation in color vision caused by plasticity in opsin expression. Specifically, we asked about the role of dietary carotenoid availability, because carotenoids (1) are the precursors for vitamin A, which is essential for the creation of photopigments and (2) have been linked to variation in female mate choice. We raised guppies on different carotenoid-level diets and measured opsin expression. Guppies raised on high-carotenoid diets expressed higher levels of long wavelength sensitive opsin (LWS) opsins than those raised on lower levels of carotenoids. These results suggest that dietary effects on opsin expression represent a previously unaccounted for mechanism by which ecological differences across populations could lead to mate choice differences.
AB - Differences in color vision can play a key role in an organism’s ability to perceive and interact with the environment across a broad range of taxa. Recently, species have been shown to vary in color vision across populations as a result of differences in regulatory sequence and/or plasticity of opsin gene expression. For decades, biologists have been intrigued by among-population variation in color-based mate preferences of female Trinidadian guppies. We proposed that some of this variation results from variation in color vision caused by plasticity in opsin expression. Specifically, we asked about the role of dietary carotenoid availability, because carotenoids (1) are the precursors for vitamin A, which is essential for the creation of photopigments and (2) have been linked to variation in female mate choice. We raised guppies on different carotenoid-level diets and measured opsin expression. Guppies raised on high-carotenoid diets expressed higher levels of long wavelength sensitive opsin (LWS) opsins than those raised on lower levels of carotenoids. These results suggest that dietary effects on opsin expression represent a previously unaccounted for mechanism by which ecological differences across populations could lead to mate choice differences.
KW - LWS
KW - Mate choice
KW - Opsins
KW - Population divergence
KW - Visual ecology
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U2 - 10.1007/s00359-016-1097-9
DO - 10.1007/s00359-016-1097-9
M3 - Article
C2 - 27283858
AN - SCOPUS:84973632327
VL - 202
SP - 527
EP - 534
JO - Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology
JF - Journal of Comparative Physiology A: Neuroethology, Sensory, Neural, and Behavioral Physiology
SN - 0340-7594
IS - 7
ER -