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Examining the molecular basis of coat color in a nocturnal primate family (Lorisidae)

Organisms use color for camouflage, sexual signaling, or as a warning sign of danger. Primates are one of the most vibrantly colored Orders of mammals. However, the genetics underlying their coat color are poorly known, limiting our ability to study molecular aspects of its evolution. The role of th...

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Autores principales: Munds, Rachel A., Titus, Chelsea L., Moreira, Lais A. A., Eggert, Lori S., Blomquist, Gregory E.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8093732/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33976821
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7338
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author Munds, Rachel A.
Titus, Chelsea L.
Moreira, Lais A. A.
Eggert, Lori S.
Blomquist, Gregory E.
author_facet Munds, Rachel A.
Titus, Chelsea L.
Moreira, Lais A. A.
Eggert, Lori S.
Blomquist, Gregory E.
author_sort Munds, Rachel A.
collection PubMed
description Organisms use color for camouflage, sexual signaling, or as a warning sign of danger. Primates are one of the most vibrantly colored Orders of mammals. However, the genetics underlying their coat color are poorly known, limiting our ability to study molecular aspects of its evolution. The role of the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) in color evolution has been implicated in studies on rocket pocket mice (Chaetodipus intermediusi), toucans (Ramphastidae), and many domesticated animals. From these studies, we know that changes in MC1R result in a yellow/red or a brown/black morphology. Here, we investigate the evolution of MC1R in Lorisidae, a monophyletic nocturnal primate family, with some genera displaying high contrast variation in color patterns and other genera being monochromatic. Even more unique, the Lorisidae family has the only venomous primate: the slow loris (Nycticebus). Research has suggested that the contrasting coat patterns of slow lorises are aposematic signals for their venom. If so, we predict the MC1R in slow lorises will be under positive selection. In our study, we found that Lorisidae MC1R is under purifying selection (ω = 0.0912). In Lorisidae MC1R, there were a total of 75 variable nucleotides, 18 of which were nonsynonymous. Six of these nonsynonymous substitutions were found on the Perodicticus branch, which our reconstructions found to be the only member of Lorisidae that has predominantly lighter coat color; no substitutions were associated with Nycticebus. Our findings generate new insight into the genetics of pelage color and evolution among a unique group of nocturnal mammals and suggest putative underpinnings of monochromatic color evolution in the Perodicticus lineage.
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spelling pubmed-80937322021-05-10 Examining the molecular basis of coat color in a nocturnal primate family (Lorisidae) Munds, Rachel A. Titus, Chelsea L. Moreira, Lais A. A. Eggert, Lori S. Blomquist, Gregory E. Ecol Evol Original Research Organisms use color for camouflage, sexual signaling, or as a warning sign of danger. Primates are one of the most vibrantly colored Orders of mammals. However, the genetics underlying their coat color are poorly known, limiting our ability to study molecular aspects of its evolution. The role of the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) in color evolution has been implicated in studies on rocket pocket mice (Chaetodipus intermediusi), toucans (Ramphastidae), and many domesticated animals. From these studies, we know that changes in MC1R result in a yellow/red or a brown/black morphology. Here, we investigate the evolution of MC1R in Lorisidae, a monophyletic nocturnal primate family, with some genera displaying high contrast variation in color patterns and other genera being monochromatic. Even more unique, the Lorisidae family has the only venomous primate: the slow loris (Nycticebus). Research has suggested that the contrasting coat patterns of slow lorises are aposematic signals for their venom. If so, we predict the MC1R in slow lorises will be under positive selection. In our study, we found that Lorisidae MC1R is under purifying selection (ω = 0.0912). In Lorisidae MC1R, there were a total of 75 variable nucleotides, 18 of which were nonsynonymous. Six of these nonsynonymous substitutions were found on the Perodicticus branch, which our reconstructions found to be the only member of Lorisidae that has predominantly lighter coat color; no substitutions were associated with Nycticebus. Our findings generate new insight into the genetics of pelage color and evolution among a unique group of nocturnal mammals and suggest putative underpinnings of monochromatic color evolution in the Perodicticus lineage. John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2021-03-10 /pmc/articles/PMC8093732/ /pubmed/33976821 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7338 Text en © 2021 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article under the terms of the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Original Research
Munds, Rachel A.
Titus, Chelsea L.
Moreira, Lais A. A.
Eggert, Lori S.
Blomquist, Gregory E.
Examining the molecular basis of coat color in a nocturnal primate family (Lorisidae)
title Examining the molecular basis of coat color in a nocturnal primate family (Lorisidae)
title_full Examining the molecular basis of coat color in a nocturnal primate family (Lorisidae)
title_fullStr Examining the molecular basis of coat color in a nocturnal primate family (Lorisidae)
title_full_unstemmed Examining the molecular basis of coat color in a nocturnal primate family (Lorisidae)
title_short Examining the molecular basis of coat color in a nocturnal primate family (Lorisidae)
title_sort examining the molecular basis of coat color in a nocturnal primate family (lorisidae)
topic Original Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8093732/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33976821
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7338
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