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A mechanism for red coloration in vertebrates.

ABSTRACT: Red coloration is a salient feature of the natural world. Many vertebrates produce red color by converting dietary yellow carotenoids into red ketocarotenoids via an unknown mechanism. Here, we show that two enzymes, cytochrome P450 2J19 (CYP2J19) and 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase 1-like (BDH1L), are sufficient to catalyze this conversion. In birds, both enzymes are expressed at the sites of ketocarotenoid biosynthesis (feather follicles and red cone photoreceptors), and genetic evidence implicates these enzymes in yellow/red color variation in feathers. In fish, the homologs of CYP2J19 and BDH1L are required for ketocarotenoid production, and we show that these enzymes are sufficient to produce ketocarotenoids in cell culture and when ectopically expressed in fish skin. Finally, we demonstrate that the red-cone-enriched tetratricopeptide repeat protein 39B (TTC39B) enhances ketocarotenoid production when co-expressed with CYP2J19 and BDH1L. The discovery of this mechanism of ketocarotenoid biosynthesis has major implications for understanding the evolution of color diversity in vertebrates.

SUBMITTER: Toomey MB

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9588406 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A mechanism for red coloration in vertebrates.

Toomey Matthew B MB Marques Cristiana I CI Araújo Pedro M PM Huang Delai D Zhong Siqiong S Liu Yu Y Schreiner Gretchen D GD Myers Connie A CA Pereira Paulo P Afonso Sandra S Andrade Pedro P Gazda Małgorzata A MA Lopes Ricardo J RJ Viegas Ivan I Koch Rebecca E RE Haynes Maureen E ME Smith Dustin J DJ Ogawa Yohey Y Murphy Daniel D Kopec Rachel E RE Parichy David M DM Carneiro Miguel M Corbo Joseph C JC

Current biology : CB 20220831 19

Red coloration is a salient feature of the natural world. Many vertebrates produce red color by converting dietary yellow carotenoids into red ketocarotenoids via an unknown mechanism. Here, we show that two enzymes, cytochrome P450 2J19 (CYP2J19) and 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase 1-like (BDH1L), are sufficient to catalyze this conversion. In birds, both enzymes are expressed at the sites of ketocarotenoid biosynthesis (feather follicles and red cone photoreceptors), and genetic evidence impli ...[more]

PMID: 36049480

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Project description:Some animals modify the environment in ways that can influence the resources available to other species. Because red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) create large piles of conifer-cone debris (middens) in which they store cones, squirrels concentrate resources that might affect biodiversity locally. To determine whether other animals are attracted to midden sites beyond their affinity for the same resources that attract red squirrels, we assessed associations between middens, mammals, and birds at population and community levels. We surveyed 75 middens where residency rates of red squirrels varied during the previous five years; sampling along this residency gradient permitted us to evaluate the influence of resources at middens beyond the influence of a resident squirrel. At each location, we quantified vegetation, landscape structure, abundance of conifer cones, and midden structure, and used capture-recapture, distance sampling, and remote cameras to quantify presence, abundance, and species richness of mammals and birds. Red squirrels and the resources they concentrated at middens influenced mammals and birds at the population scale and to a lesser extent at the community scale. At middens with higher residency rates of red squirrels, richness of medium and large mammals increased markedly and species richness of birds increased slightly. After accounting for local forest characteristics, however, only species richness of medium-to-large mammals was associated with a red squirrel being resident during surveys. In areas where red squirrels were resident during surveys or in areas with greater amounts of resources concentrated by red squirrels, abundances of two of four small mammal species and two of four bird species increased. We conclude that the presence of this ecosystem modifier and the resources it concentrates influence abundance of some mammals and birds, which may have implications for maintaining biodiversity across the wide geographic range inhabited by red squirrels and other larderhoarding animals.

Dataset Information

A mechanism for red coloration in vertebrates.

Publications

A mechanism for red coloration in vertebrates.

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