The genetics and histology of red,blond and associated colour variants in Oreochromis niloticus

A single red mutant was observed in a pure strain of O. niloticus (Egyptian). This was crossed to 6 normal coloured females and the progeny were used to study the genetics and histology of this commercially important trait. Other potentially important colour variants were also studied. These included blond, blotch, syrup and red melanophore. Histology showed that melanophore development rather than a biochemical pathway mutation was responsible for the colour in red fish. Histology of red tilapia showed almost a complete absence of melanin granules in the skin, blotched individuals showed areas characteristic of red and normal skin. The histology of the skin of blond fish showed the incomplete development of melanophores and melanocytes. Genetic analysis of the red trait shows that red is an autosomal dominant, and confirms that blond is autosomal recessive as is syrup. The analysis of blotch and red melanophore is not complete but suggests that both are epistatic to red. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the improvement of existing red strains and the importance of these colour traits for the development of new colour variants in tilapia.     

Ultrastructure and distribution of chromatophores in the skin of the leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius)

The aim of this study was to describe the ultrastructure and arrangement of pigment cells in the leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius) skin to explain how wild‐type coloration is formed. The study also attempted to explain, on a morphological level, how skin colour changes occur. Samples of leopard gecko skin were collected from wild‐type coloration adult specimens. The morphology of pigmented cells was determined using light microscopy on haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained sections and in transmission electron microscopy. These studies indicate that skin of E. macularis contains xanthophores and melanophores but lacks iridophores and that this is probably related to nocturnal activity. The number and distribution of xanthophores and melanophores determines the skin colour and pigmentation pattern. The colour changes depend on the arrangement of characteristic protrusions of melanophores and the degree of filling them with melanosomes.     

A reflectometric study of the skin in Dutch families

In the period February–May 1968 the reflectances of the exposed (forehead) and unexposed (inside upper arm) skin, were measured at nine wavelengths (430, 470, 490, 520, 550, 580, 600, 660 and 685 mμ), using an “EEL” Reflectance Spectrophotometer in 100 Dutch families. The reflectance curves of upper arm and forehead show the shape usually found in white persons. The skin colour of the upper arm is lighter than that of the forehead in males and females. A difference in skin colour between males and females is observed. The forehead reflectances of males are lower than of females, and the upper arm reflectances of females are lower than those of males. A similarly directed sex difference in skin colour at the forehead has been found in other white groups. If no difference in reaction on exposure exists between both sexes, then the skin colour of the male upper arm will be lighter than that of females, although males in general are more exposed to radiation, because male arms are less uncovered than female arms. No change in skin colour at the upper arm is observed during ageing. As judged from the wavelengths concerned the changes in skin colour at the forehead during ageing result for the greater part both from a regular accumulation of melanin, and an increase in the blood flow of the skin, particularly during the years 11–25.Intrafamilial reflectance resemblances are investigated by means of correlations computed from the upper arm reflectance values measured at wavelengths 550 and 685 mμ. Significant positive correlations between the parents, 0·299 (wavelength 550 mμ) and 0·226 (wavelength 685 mμ) respectively, indicate positive assortative mating. The pattern of intrafamilial correlation coefficients suggests a role of X-chromosomal genes in the causation of the variability in the reflectances measured at wavelength 685 mμ (a measure of melanin deposition). Intrafamilial correlation computations of reflectances measured at wavelength 550 mμ (a measure of vascular response) show some positive correlations, but the role of genes in the causation of the variability in these reflectances remains unclear.     

Fear of the dark: substrate preference in Amazonian tadpoles

acta ethologica - Due to the importance of camouflage to avoid detection by predators, predation pressure can cause coupled evolution of skin colour and preference for substrate colour. Individuals...     

Expertomica Fishgui: comparison of fish skin colour

The colour hue and saturation of the fish skin are important factors in fish breeding, reflecting the momentary physiological status of the fish. Algorithms evaluating fish colour were created in the MATLAB environment and compiled in the stand‐alone application, Expertomica Fishgui. Fish groups fed on several diets (varying in carotenoid supplements) were compared as concerns image analysis methods on colour changes. Images were processed and evaluated to locate body positions, areas and colour saturation. Conversion from the Red‐Green‐Blue (RGB) colour space to chromatic colours was carried out to reduce the colour space. The threshold of skin chromatic colour was set on basis of the chromatic histograms using Otsu automatic bimodal segmentation. The average colour was calculated through all pixels of the selected area in the original image and through all images of the group. Colour conversion to the Hue‐Saturation‐Value (HSV) colour space was also carried out. Relative deviation between the saturation of samples in the control and the experimental groups provided a means of judgement. The dominant wavelength was also determined.     

African Perceptions of Female Attractiveness

Little is known about mate choice preferences outside Western, educated, industrialised, rich and democratic societies, even though these Western populations may be particularly unrepresentative of human populations. To our knowledge, this is the first study to test which facial cues contribute to African perceptions of African female attractiveness and also the first study to test the combined role of facial adiposity, skin colour (lightness, yellowness and redness), skin homogeneity and youthfulness in the facial attractiveness preferences of any population. Results show that youthfulness, skin colour, skin homogeneity and facial adiposity significantly and independently predict attractiveness in female African faces. Younger, thinner women with a lighter, yellower skin colour and a more homogenous skin tone are considered more attractive. These findings provide a more global perspective on human mate choice and point to a universal role for these four facial cues in female facial attractiveness.     

A meta-analysis of pigmentary characteristics,sun sensitivity,freckling and melanocytic nevi and risk of basal cell carcinoma of the skin

ObjectiveTo calculate pooled risk estimates of the association between pigmentary characteristics and basal cell carcinoma (BCC) of the skin.MethodsWe searched three electronic databases and reviewed the reference lists of the retrieved articles until July 2012 to identify eligible epidemiologic studies. Eligible studies were those published in between 1965 and July 2012 that permitted quantitative assessment of the association between histologically-confirmed BCC and any of the following characteristics: hair colour, eye colour, skin colour, skin phototype, tanning and burning ability, and presence of freckling or melanocytic nevi. We included 29 studies from 2236 initially identified. We calculated summary odds ratios (ORs) using weighted averages of the log OR, using random effects models.ResultsWe found strongest associations with red hair (OR 2.02; 95% CI: 1.68, 2.44), fair skin colour (OR 2.11; 95% CI: 1.56, 2.86), and having skin that burns and never tans (OR 2.03; 95% CI: 1.73, 2.38). All other factors had weaker but positive associations with BCC, with the exception of freckling of the face in adulthood which showed no association.ConclusionsAlthough most studies report risk estimates that are in the same direction, there is significant heterogeneity in the size of the estimates. The associations were quite modest and remarkably similar, with ORs between about 1.5 and 2.5 for the highest risk level for each factor. Given the public health impact of BCC, this meta-analysis will make a valuable contribution to our understanding of BCC.     

Sexual character intensity and its relationship to breeding timing, fecundity and mate choice in the great cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo lucidus

Reproductive success and the intensity of five separate seasonal sexual characters, expressed similarly in both sexes and likely to be dependent on age and/or individual condition, were documented at a colony of great cormorants at Lake Naivasha, Kenya (00°46' S, 36°22' E) in 1996. The characters assessed were head filoplumes, thigh patch feathers, colour of cheek, neck and upper breast plumage, colour of gular skin, and colour of suborbital skin. More intensely developed sexual characters at the time of pair formation were associated with significantly earlier breeding. Pairs that bred earlier fledged significantly more chicks than those breeding later. However, correlations between the number of chicks fledged and the intensity of the parents' sexual characters at pair formation were generally weak and not significant. An exception was the colour of the cheek, foreneck and upper breast plumage: males (but not females) with the darkest plumage in these areas fledged significantly more chicks than others. Correlations between paired male and female sexual character intensity were weak, and significant only in the case of suborbital skin colour. Other factors may have been more important than these characters in influencing mate selection.     

Effects of 6-hydroxydopamine and 5-hydroxydopamine onlthe teleost melanophores innervation

Intraperitoneal injections of 6-OH-dopamine (80 mg kg^−l) promote, in toad fish, killifish, lsummer and winter flounders, a darkening of their colour and loss of capacity to adapt tolthe colour of the background. This condition persisted for three weeks after which thelanimals gradually returned to normal. The study of the skin of 6-hydroxydopamineltreated killifish showed degenerative lesions in the fine nerves and synapses of its melanophores, 124 h after the administration of the drug. These lesions progressed and 4 days later, lno synaptic structures could be detected in these cells. This condition persisted up to thel20th day. These results suggest that melanophores have a single monoaminergic innervaion.     

Skin colour in north Indian populations

The skin colour of six endogamous groups of north India has been studied reflectometrically. The percentage reflectance at upper arm and forchead of 650 adult males (20–25 years) is described and discussed using 601 (425 nm), 605 (545 nm) and 609 (685 nm) filters of the “EEL” spectrophotometer. The inter-group heterogeneity is revealed by variance-ratio test. The t-test has been applied to study inter-group differences in pigmentation. Some correspondence has been found in skin colour with caste hierarchy, which holds only when the populations living in the same region are compared. These differences are assigned to adaptive adjustments superimposed by caste endogamy and assortative mating for skin colour.     

Structure and colour of the integument of the European eel Anguilla anguilla (L.)

The structure of the integument of 26 wild and nine artificially matured female Anguilla anguilla , and 30 sexually immature eels maintained in controlled lighting, was investigated. Melanophore densities varied in a way unrelated to maturity while xanthophores were progressively lost from lower levels in the skin. Reflecting layers made up of the purines, guanine and hypoxanthine were associated with chromatophore layers. Purine concentrations (as a percentage of total skin dry weight) decreased with maturity but a reorganization of the reflecting elements occurred. Colour changes associated with maturation were due to the redistribution of purines. Spectral and angular reflectance measurements indicate that the integument has camouflage value and colour changes can be related to the change in habitat occurring with migration. The usefulness of colour as an index of sexual maturity is discussed.     

Seeing the light to change colour: An evolutionary perspective on the role of melanopsin in neuroendocrine circuits regulating light‐mediated skin pigmentation

Melanopsin photopigments, Opn4x and Opn4m, were evolutionary selected to “see the light” in systems that regulate skin colour change. In this review, we analyse the roles of melanopsins, and how critical evolutionary developments, including the requirement for thermoregulation and ultraviolet protection, the emergence of a background adaptation mechanism in land‐dwelling amphibian ancestors and the loss of a photosensitive pineal gland in mammals, may have helped sculpt the mechanisms that regulate light‐controlled skin pigmentation. These mechanisms include melanopsin in skin pigment cells directly inducing skin darkening for thermoregulation/ultraviolet protection; melanopsin‐expressing eye cells controlling neuroendocrine circuits to mediate background adaptation in amphibians in response to surface‐reflected light; and pineal gland secretion of melatonin phased to environmental illuminance to regulate circadian and seasonal variation in skin colour, a process initiated by melanopsin‐expressing eye cells in mammals, and by as yet unknown non‐visual opsins in the pineal gland of non‐mammals.     

Control of the pars intermedia of the lizard,Anolis carolinensis

Summary The capacity of colour change in intact lizards and in animals with a transected hypophysial stalk was studied during extended periods. It was concluded that, with certain exceptions, the skin colour of the lizards gives information on the circulating levels of MSH, and thereby on the function of the pars intermedia.After transection of the hypophysial stalk, three phases of chromatic behaviour were recognised. During Phase I, which lasted for about 6 days (average), dark skin was retained irrespective of the colour of the background (= high MSH levels), whereas Phase II (19 days) was characterised by the inability of the animals to become brown (= low MSH levels). A gradual recovery toward normal adaptive capacity was seen during Phase III.In the disconnected neuro-intermediate lobe, aldehyde fuchsin (AF)-positive material in the rostral region rapidly clumped and disappeared within a few days. In the caudal portion, the stainability and the varicose arrangement of fibres were retained longer, but disappeared within approximately 14 days after the operation. Proximal to the lesion, the preoptic system exhibited a marked increase in stainability with AF, starting in the median eminence and progressing in a retrograde direction toward the peptidergic nuclei.Revascularisation of the disconnected neuro-intermediate lobe occurred during the first few days. A reinnervation of AF-fibres across the transected area into the neural lobe was observed during Phase III in most animals, but AF-fibres did not reoccupy the entire lobe. In association with an outgrowth of capillaries, the regenerating fibres formed new neural lobules. This regenerative process was accompanied by an increase in blood supply from the primary plexus of the median eminence to the neuro-intermediate lobe.Supported by grants from the Swedish Natural Science Research Council and the Royal Physiographic Society of LundThe authors are indebted to Mrs. Ingrid Hallberg and Mrs. Kirsten Thörneby for valuable technical assistance and skillful attention to the animals and to Miss Inger Norling for photographic aid     

Observations on skin colour changes in juvenile lumpsuckers

This study reports on an experimental investigation of colour change in young lumpsuckers Cyclopterus lumpus , employing Munsell colour charts to quantify skin hue, colour value and chroma. Juvenile lumpsuckers can live pelagically close to the sea surface, or can attach to floating seaweed and debris with their suckers. When swimming they adopt a cryptic default light green coloration, with the dorsum being darker than the belly (countershading). This default colour is also seen in complete darkness. When attached to objects they take a colour stimulus from below and to the sides and change colour. They can achieve good colour matches (noticeable in 3 min; complete within 15 min) with substrata that are green-yellow in colour, especially the brown alga Ascophyllum nodosum . Colour matching is largely dependent upon changes in colour value (i.e. lightness/darkness) produced by melanin dispersal or concentration in the melanophores. Thus, on artificial backgrounds outside the range of achievable hue matching, they still achieve good matchings of colour value. Slight hue changes were recorded (probably reflecting interaction of basic skin colour with melanin dispersal state), but chroma (brightness) variations were negligible. Lumpsucker colour depends upon light intensity, allowing sustained colour matching as weed illumination changes.     

Why colour in subterranean vertebrates? Exploring the evolution of colour patterns in caecilian amphibians

The proximate functions of animal skin colour are difficult to assign as they can result from natural selection, sexual selection or neutral evolution under genetic drift. Most often colour patterns are thought to signal visual stimuli; so,their presence in subterranean taxa is perplexing. We evaluate the adaptive nature of colour patterns in nearly a third of all known species of caecilians, an order of amphibians most of which live in tropical soils and leaf litter. We found that certain colour pattern elements in caecilians can be explained based on characteristics concerning above-ground movement. Our study implies that certain caecilian colour patterns have convergently evolved under selection and we hypothesize their function most likely to be a synergy of aposematism and crypsis, related to periods when individuals move overground. In a wider context, our results suggest that very little exposure to daylight is required to evolve and maintain a varied array of colour patterns in animal skin.     

Influence of previous experience on the mate selection of two colour morphs of the convict cichlid, Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum (Pisces,Cichlidae)

In a pilot test, individuals of two colour morphs of Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum showed colour preferences in their schooling behaviour according to previous experience. Two further experiments were undertaken to investigate if such experientially induced preferences could reflect on the choice of mate. In one experiment white males who had been reared differently with regard to the colour morph of parents and siblings were given females of the different colour morphs (white and normal) to choose from, the females being successively removed after pairing to induce further choices. In this test, however, the males predominantly chose normal females, probably because of dominance relationships among the females, which masked a possible colour preference. Instead, a free choice test was devised, where 74 white and 74 normal fishes were allowed to pair off freely in a large tank. Here, a statistically significant sexual preference for the previously experienced colour morph was found. These results, as well as the possible evolutionary consequences, are discussed.     

大分子葡萄糖酐所致血瘀模型小鼠中偶氮蓝渗出量与血瘀程度的相关性

目的探讨大分子葡萄糖酐血瘀模型小鼠偶氮蓝渗出量和血瘀程度的相关性。方法用0.5%偶氮蓝将大分子葡萄糖酐配制成10%、5%、2.5%的浓度,尾静脉注射,0.1mL/10g,分别在注入后0.5、1、2h对造模小鼠耳、舌的颜色进行观察,并用丙酮无水硫酸钠溶液将耳组织中的偶氮蓝提出,在590μm测定各实验组小鼠耳廓偶氮蓝含量。结果实验结果表明,不同浓度的大分子葡萄糖酐所致血瘀模型的血瘀程度明显不同,同单用偶氮蓝组小鼠相比,大分子葡萄糖酐10%、5%、2.5%的浓度造模小鼠的耳、舌的颜色明显呈现蓝色,随着剂量的增加偶氮蓝渗出量明显增加(P<0.05或0.01),在尾静脉注射后0.5h,造模小鼠耳、舌的颜色呈现点状或片状蓝色,在尾静脉注射后1h,造模小鼠耳、舌的颜色明显呈现蓝色,在尾静脉注射后2h,造模小鼠耳、舌的颜色明显消退。结论表明大分子葡萄糖酐所致血瘀模型的血瘀程度和偶氮蓝渗出量明显相关,呈现明显的量效和时效关系。