Short-wavelength-sensitive 1 (SWS1) opsin gene duplications and parallel visual pigment tuning support ultraviolet communication in damselfishes (Pomacentridae).

ABSTRACT: Damselfishes (Pomacentridae) are one of the most behaviourally diverse, colourful and species-rich reef fish families. One remarkable characteristic of damselfishes is their communication in ultraviolet (UV) light. Not only are they sensitive to UV, they are also prone to have UV-reflective colours and patterns enabling social signalling. Using more than 50 species, we aimed to uncover the evolutionary history of UV colour and UV vision in damselfishes. All damselfishes had UV-transmitting lenses, expressed the UV-sensitive SWS1 opsin gene, and most displayed UV-reflective patterns and colours. We find evidence for several tuning events across the radiation, and while SWS1 gene duplications are generally very rare among teleosts, our phylogenetic reconstructions uncovered two

SUBMITTER: Stieb SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11019301 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature