基于类胡萝卜素着色的鸟类羽色多样性形成机制

人们对动物体色的研究由来已久。作为一类让生物呈现出多变色彩的重要色素, 类胡萝卜素可以在鸟类的羽毛、鸟喙和皮肤等体表组织中沉积, 产生红、橙、黄、粉、紫等颜色。类胡萝卜素不能在鸟类体内合成, 需从食物中摄取, 进而在体内完成吸收、运输、代谢和沉积等一系列过程, 才能用于羽毛着色。与类胡萝卜素着色相关的生理及遗传调控机制一直备受关注, BCO2、SCARB1和CYP2J19等影响类胡萝卜素在鸟类羽毛中着色的关键基因, 推动了对羽色遗传调控机制的深入认识。本文介绍了鸟类可利用类胡萝卜素的主要类型和基本特征, 综述了类胡萝卜素着色相关的生理过程以及调控基因研究的最新进展, 旨在增加对鸟类羽毛中类胡萝卜素着色过程和相关遗传机制的理解。

The formation and mechanism of plumage color diversity based on carotenoid pigmentation

Background & Aims: Animal coloration has long been a topic of interest. As one of the most colorful groups in the world, birds exhibit a wide diversity of plumage pigmentation patterns. Carotenoid, an important component contributing to vivid colors in many avian species, can be deposited in avian integument and produce red, orange, yellow, pink and purple coloration, which can serve as an honest signal of individual condition in mediating social and mating interaction. Therefore, carotenoid pigmentation is an ideal phenotypic trait for understanding the diversity of plumage coloration under a variety of evolutionary pressures and constraints. Most significantly, this complex coloration mechanism provides a variety of opportunities for the evolution of plumage coloration driven by natural and sexual selection. In this review, we highlight the current advances in the mechanisms underlying carotenoid-based coloration in four physiological processes involved in carotenoid coloration in birds. We also introduce the interaction of carotenoid pigment and microstructural coloration, and the ecological forces that drive the evolution of carotenoid coloration.