What Makes a Mimic? Orange, Red, and Black Color Production in the Mimic Poison Frog (Ranitomeya imitator).

ABSTRACT: Aposematic organisms rely on their conspicuous appearance to signal that they are defended and unpalatable. Such phenotypes are strongly tied to survival and reproduction. Aposematic colors and patterns are highly variable; however, the genetic, biochemical, and physiological mechanisms producing this conspicuous coloration remain largely unidentified. Here, we identify genes potentially affecting color variation in two color morphs of Ranitomeya imitator: the orange-banded Sauce and the redheaded Varadero morphs. We examine gene expression in black and orange skin patches from the Sauce morph and black and red skin patches from the Varadero morph. We identified genes differentially expressed between skin patches, including those that are involved in melanin synthesis (e.g. mlana, pmel, ty

SUBMITTER: Rubio AO 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11255871 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature