Carotenoid Pigments in Male House Finch Plumage in Relation to Age, Subspecies, and Ornamental Coloration

Inouye, Caron Y.; Hill, Geoffrey E.; Stradi, Riccardo; Montgomerie, Robert

doi:10.1642/0004-8038(2001)118[0900:cpimhf]2.0.co;2

Cited by 101 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Ornament elaboration is a function of the redness of plumage display in the house finch and other birds (Hill 1996), and plumage redness is a function of the ratio of ketocarotenoids versus xanthophylls deposited in feathers (Inouye et al 2001;McGraw et al 2006). If carotenoid ketolation occurs within or on the outer surface of mitochondria, then carotenoid oxidation will likely be linked to core electron transporting events, including cytochrome b5 and vitamin C reduction on the outer mitochondrial membrane and oxidative phosphorylation on the inner mitochondria membrane.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Still other songbirds ketolate dietary pigments by introducing ketone groups to produce red ketocarotenoids. Ketolation of yellow dietary pigments is the primary source of red coloration in songbirds (Stradi et al 1996(Stradi et al , 1997Inouye et al 2001; fig. 1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Male house finches have extensive carotenoid plumage coloration that varies from red to yellow and that is developed in a relatively short window of time in the late summer during prebasic molt (Hill 2002). On the basis of likely precursor-product relationships, it has been argued that house finches derive their red coloration by oxidizing primarily dietary b-cryptoxanthin into primarily the red ketocarotenoid 3-hydroxy-echinenone (Inouye et al 2001;McGraw et al 2006). We collected wild molting male house finches and analyzed the carotenoid content of cellular fractions of homogenized liver to test a key assumption of the hypothesis that carotenoid pigments used for ornamental feather coloration are oxidized in hepatic mitochondria.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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High Concentrations of Ketocarotenoids in Hepatic Mitochondria ofHaemorhous mexicanus

Johnson

Cobine

et al. 2015

Physiological and Biochemical Zoology

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JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. ABSTRACTVertebrates cannot synthesize carotenoid pigments de novo, so to produce carotenoid-based coloration they must ingest carotenoids. Most songbirds that deposit red carotenoids in feathers, bills, eyes, or skin ingest only yellow or orange dietary pigments, which they oxidize to red pigments via a ketolation reaction. It has been hypothesized that carotenoid ketolation occurs in the liver of vertebrates, but this hypothesis remains to be confirmed. To better understand the role of hepatocytes in the production of ketolated carotenoids in songbirds, we measured the carotenoid content of subcellular components of hepatocytes from wild male house finches (Haemorhous mexicanus) that were molting red, ketocarotenoid-containing feathers (e.g., 3-hydroxy-echinenone). We homogenized freshly collected livers of house finches and isolated subcellular fractions, including mitochondria. We found the highest concentration of ketocarotenoids in the mitochondrial fraction. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that carotenoid pigments are oxidized on or within hepatic mitochondria, esterified, and then transported to the Golgi apparatus for secretory processing.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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High Concentrations of Ketocarotenoids in Hepatic Mitochondria ofHaemorhous mexicanus

Johnson

Cobine

et al. 2015

Physiological and Biochemical Zoology

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“…How much of the variation in carotenoid use can be explained in terms of indicator processes and sensory drive ? Although some of the proximate causes of species differences in carotenoid colouration are understood at a basic level (see Inouye et al, 2001;McGraw et al, 2001 ;Stradi, Pini & Celentano, 2001), the evolutionary questions remain open (Hudon et al, in press). …”

Section: Individual Colour Patches As Multicomponent Traitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual colour patches as multicomponent signals

2004

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Colour patches are complex traits, the components of which may evolve independently through a variety of mechanisms. Although usually treated as simple, two-dimensional characters and classified as either structural or pigmentary, in reality colour patches are complicated, three-dimensional structures that often contain multiple pigment types and structural features. The basic dermal chromatophore unit of fishes, reptiles and amphibians consists of three contiguous cell layers. Xanthophores and erythrophores in the outermost layer contain carotenoid and pteridine pigments that absorb short-wave light ; iridophores in the middle layer contain crystalline platelets that reflect light back through the xanthophores ; and melanophores in the basal layer contain melanins that absorb light across the spectrum. Changes in any one component of a chromatophore unit can drastically alter the reflectance spectrum produced, and for any given adaptive outcome (e.g. an increase in visibility), there may be multiple biochemical or cellular routes that evolution could take, allowing for divergent responses by different populations or species to similar selection regimes. All of the mechanisms of signal evolution that previously have been applied to single ornaments (including whole colour patches) could potentially be applied to the individual components of colour patches. To reach a complete understanding of colour patch evolution, however, it may be necessary to take an explicitly multi-trait approach. Here, we review multiple trait evolution theory and the basic mechanisms of colour production in fishes, reptiles and amphibians, and use a combination of computer simulations and empirical examples to show how multiple trait evolution theory can be applied to the components of single colour patches. This integrative perspective on animal colouration opens up a host of new questions and hypotheses. We offer specific, testable functional hypotheses for the most common pigmentary (carotenoid, pteridine and melanin) and structural components of vertebrate colour patches.

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“…The increase in colour expression from winter to spring due to environmental factors has been also recorded in other cardueline finches (Troy & Brush 1983;authors' unpublished data) that incorporate 3-hydroxy-echinenone and other carotenoids into their feathers (Stradi et al 1997). However, this change is not apparent or has been not recorded when carotenoid-based ornaments included other single major carotenoids or a combination of carotenoids in other bird species where the proximate control of plumage coloration has been investigated (Inouye et al 2001;McGraw et al , 2002McGraw et al , 2003Sasks et al 2003). This may indicate that a particular feather protein associated with particular pigments or a specific link with particular pigments may be behind the colour change in breast and crown feathers of linnets and other close related finches.…”

Section: (C) Experimental Change Of Feather Colourmentioning

confidence: 87%

Environmental-induced acquisition of nuptial plumage expression: a role of denaturation of feather carotenoproteins?

et al. 2005

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Several avian species show a bright carotenoid-based coloration during spring and following a period of duller coloration during the previous winter, despite carotenoids presumably being fully deposited in feathers during the autumn moult. Carotenoid-based breast feathers of male linnets (Carduelis cannabina) increased in hue (redness), saturation and brightness after exposing them to outdoor conditions from winter to spring. This represents the first experimental evidence showing that carotenoid-based plumage coloration may increase towards a colourful expression due to biotic or abiotic environmental factors acting directly on full-grown feathers when carotenoids may be fully functional. Sunlight ultraviolet (UV) irradiation was hypothesized to denature keratin and other proteins that might protect pigments from degradation by this and other environmental factors, suggesting that sunlight UV irradiation is a major factor in the colour increase from winter to spring. Feather proteins and other binding molecules, if existing in the follicles, may be linked to carotenoids since their deposition into feathers to protect colourful features of associated carotenoids during the non-breeding season when its main signalling function may be relaxed. Progress towards uncovering the significance of concealment and subsequent display of colour expression should consider the potential binding and protecting nature of feather proteins associated with carotenoids.

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Carotenoid Pigments in Male House Finch Plumage in Relation to Age, Subspecies, and Ornamental Coloration

Cited by 101 publications

References 55 publications

High Concentrations of Ketocarotenoids in Hepatic Mitochondria ofHaemorhous mexicanus

High Concentrations of Ketocarotenoids in Hepatic Mitochondria ofHaemorhous mexicanus

Individual colour patches as multicomponent signals

Environmental-induced acquisition of nuptial plumage expression: a role of denaturation of feather carotenoproteins?

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