Unraveling the thread of nature's tapestry: the genetics of diversity and convergence in animal pigmentation
Summary Animals display incredibly diverse color patterns yet little is known about the underlying genetic basis of these phenotypes. However, emerging results are reshaping our view of how the process of phenotypic evolution occurs. Here, we outline recent research from three particularly active ar...
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Published in | Pigment cell and melanoma research Vol. 25; no. 4; pp. 411 - 433 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Oxford, UK
Blackwell Publishing Ltd
01.07.2012
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Summary
Animals display incredibly diverse color patterns yet little is known about the underlying genetic basis of these phenotypes. However, emerging results are reshaping our view of how the process of phenotypic evolution occurs. Here, we outline recent research from three particularly active areas of investigation: melanin pigmentation in Drosophila, wing patterning in butterflies, and pigment variation in lizards. For each system, we highlight (i) the function and evolution of color variation, (ii) various approaches that have been used to explore the genetic basis of pigment variation, and (iii) conclusions regarding the genetic basis of convergent evolution which have emerged from comparative analyses. Results from these studies indicate that natural variation in pigmentation is a particularly powerful tool to examine the molecular basis of evolution, especially with regard to convergent or parallel evolution. Comparison of these systems also reveals that the molecular basis of convergent evolution is heterogeneous, sometimes involving conserved mechanisms and sometimes not. In the near future, additional work in other emerging systems will substantially expand the scope of available comparisons. |
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Bibliography: | istex:64778939C49A4A02A4B18BAB21D88988AAB1EEA1 ark:/67375/WNG-FT1NGKNK-6 ArticleID:PCMR1014 ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-3 content type line 23 ObjectType-Review-2 |
ISSN: | 1755-1471 1755-148X |
DOI: | 10.1111/j.1755-148X.2012.01014.x |