Variation in pigmentation gene expression is associated with distinct aposematic color morphs in the poison frog Dendrobates auratus

Color and pattern phenotypes have clear implications for survival and reproduction in many species. However, the mechanisms that produce this coloration are still poorly characterized, especially at the genomic level. Here we have taken a transcriptomics-based approach to elucidate the underlying ge...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMC ecology and evolution 2019-04, Vol.19 (1), p.85-15, Article 85
Main Authors: Stuckert, Adam M M, Moore, Emily, Coyle, Kaitlin P, Davison, Ian, MacManes, Matthew D, Roberts, Reade, Summers, Kyle
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alkaloids
Amphibians
Analysis
Animals
Anura - genetics
Aposematism
Biochemistry
Bioinformatics
Carotenoids
Color
Color variation
Coloration
Datasets
Frogs
Gene expression
Gene Expression Regulation
Gene Ontology
Genes
Genetic aspects
Genomes
Genomics
Green poison frog
Melanins - metabolism
Metamorphosis
Microphthalmia-associated transcription factor
Ontology
Phenotype
Phenotypes
Physiological aspects
Pigmentation
Pigments
Poison frog
Principal Component Analysis
Principal components analysis
Reproduction (biology)
Ribonucleic acid
RNA
Skin
Skin Pigmentation - genetics
Transcriptome - genetics
Transcriptomes
Transcriptomics
Vertebrates
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Description
Summary:Color and pattern phenotypes have clear implications for survival and reproduction in many species. However, the mechanisms that produce this coloration are still poorly characterized, especially at the genomic level. Here we have taken a transcriptomics-based approach to elucidate the underlying genetic mechanisms affecting color and pattern in a highly polytypic poison frog. We sequenced RNA from the skin from four different color morphs during the final stage of metamorphosis and assembled a de novo transcriptome. We then investigated differential gene expression, with an emphasis on examining candidate color genes from other taxa. Overall, we found differential expression of a suite of genes that control melanogenesis, melanocyte differentiation, and melanocyte proliferation (e.g., tyrp1, lef1, leo1, and mitf) as well as several differentially expressed genes involved in purine synthesis and iridophore development (e.g., arfgap1, arfgap2, airc, and gart). Our results provide evidence that several gene networks known to affect color and pattern in vertebrates play a role in color and pattern variation in this species of poison frog.
ISSN:1471-2148
1471-2148
2730-7182
DOI:10.1186/s12862-019-1410-7