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The Neuro-Hormonal Control of Rapid Dynamic Skin Colour Change in an Amphibian during Amplexus
Sexual signalling using dynamic skin colouration is a key feature in some vertebrates; however, it is rarely studied in amphibians. Consequently, little is known about the hormonal basis of this interesting biological phenomenon for many species. Male stony creek frogs (Litoria wilcoxii) are known t...
Autores principales: | , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Public Library of Science
2014
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4254939/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25470775 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0114120 |
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author | Kindermann, Christina Narayan, Edward J. Hero, Jean-Marc |
author_facet | Kindermann, Christina Narayan, Edward J. Hero, Jean-Marc |
author_sort | Kindermann, Christina |
collection | PubMed |
description | Sexual signalling using dynamic skin colouration is a key feature in some vertebrates; however, it is rarely studied in amphibians. Consequently, little is known about the hormonal basis of this interesting biological phenomenon for many species. Male stony creek frogs (Litoria wilcoxii) are known to change dorsal colouration from brown to lemon yellow within minutes. This striking change is faster then what has been seen most amphibians, and could therefore be under neuronal regulation, a factor that is rarely observed in amphibians. In this study, we observed colour changes in wild frogs during amplexus to determine the natural timing of colour change. We also investigated the hypothesis that colour change is mediated by either reproductive or neuro- hormones. This was achieved by injecting frogs with epinephrine, testosterone, saline solution (control 1) or sesame oil (control 2). A non-invasive approach was also used wherein hormones and controls were administered topically. Male frogs turned a vivid yellow within 5 minutes of initiation of amplexus and remained so for 3–5 hours before rapidly fading back to brown. Epinephrine-treated frogs showed a significant colour change from brown to yellow within 5 minutes, however, testosterone-treated frogs did not change colour. Our results provide evidence of the role neuronal regulation plays in colour change systems. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-4254939 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2014 |
publisher | Public Library of Science |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-42549392014-12-11 The Neuro-Hormonal Control of Rapid Dynamic Skin Colour Change in an Amphibian during Amplexus Kindermann, Christina Narayan, Edward J. Hero, Jean-Marc PLoS One Research Article Sexual signalling using dynamic skin colouration is a key feature in some vertebrates; however, it is rarely studied in amphibians. Consequently, little is known about the hormonal basis of this interesting biological phenomenon for many species. Male stony creek frogs (Litoria wilcoxii) are known to change dorsal colouration from brown to lemon yellow within minutes. This striking change is faster then what has been seen most amphibians, and could therefore be under neuronal regulation, a factor that is rarely observed in amphibians. In this study, we observed colour changes in wild frogs during amplexus to determine the natural timing of colour change. We also investigated the hypothesis that colour change is mediated by either reproductive or neuro- hormones. This was achieved by injecting frogs with epinephrine, testosterone, saline solution (control 1) or sesame oil (control 2). A non-invasive approach was also used wherein hormones and controls were administered topically. Male frogs turned a vivid yellow within 5 minutes of initiation of amplexus and remained so for 3–5 hours before rapidly fading back to brown. Epinephrine-treated frogs showed a significant colour change from brown to yellow within 5 minutes, however, testosterone-treated frogs did not change colour. Our results provide evidence of the role neuronal regulation plays in colour change systems. Public Library of Science 2014-12-03 /pmc/articles/PMC4254939/ /pubmed/25470775 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0114120 Text en © 2014 Kindermann et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited. |
spellingShingle | Research Article Kindermann, Christina Narayan, Edward J. Hero, Jean-Marc The Neuro-Hormonal Control of Rapid Dynamic Skin Colour Change in an Amphibian during Amplexus |
title | The Neuro-Hormonal Control of Rapid Dynamic Skin Colour Change in an Amphibian during Amplexus |
title_full | The Neuro-Hormonal Control of Rapid Dynamic Skin Colour Change in an Amphibian during Amplexus |
title_fullStr | The Neuro-Hormonal Control of Rapid Dynamic Skin Colour Change in an Amphibian during Amplexus |
title_full_unstemmed | The Neuro-Hormonal Control of Rapid Dynamic Skin Colour Change in an Amphibian during Amplexus |
title_short | The Neuro-Hormonal Control of Rapid Dynamic Skin Colour Change in an Amphibian during Amplexus |
title_sort | neuro-hormonal control of rapid dynamic skin colour change in an amphibian during amplexus |
topic | Research Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4254939/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25470775 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0114120 |
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