Integumental reddish-violet coloration owing to novel dichromatic chromatophores in the teleost fish, Pseudochromis diadema

Summary In the reddish‐violet parts of the skin of the diadema pseudochromis Pseudochromis diadema, we found novel dichromatic chromatophores with a reddish pigment and reflecting platelets. We named these novel cells ‘erythro‐iridophores’. In standard physiological solution, erythro‐iridophores dis...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pigment cell and melanoma research 2011-08, Vol.24 (4), p.614-617
Main Authors: Goda, Makoto, Ohata, Mihoko, Ikoma, Hayato, Fujiyoshi, Yoshinori, Sugimoto, Masazumi, Fujii, Ryozo
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal Structures - cytology
Animals
chromatophore
Chromatophores - cytology
Chromatophores - physiology
Chromatophores - ultrastructure
Diadema
erythro-iridophore
fish
Fishes - physiology
Integumentary System - physiology
Marine
Pseudochromis
Skin Pigmentation - physiology
Teleostei
Tissue Fixation
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Summary:Summary In the reddish‐violet parts of the skin of the diadema pseudochromis Pseudochromis diadema, we found novel dichromatic chromatophores with a reddish pigment and reflecting platelets. We named these novel cells ‘erythro‐iridophores’. In standard physiological solution, erythro‐iridophores displayed two hues, red and dark violet when viewed with an optical microscope under ordinary transmission light and epi‐illumination optics, respectively. Under transmission electron microscopy, however, we observed no typical red chromatosomes, i.e., erythrosomes, in the cytoplasm. High‐performance thin‐layer chromatography (HPTLC) analysis of the pigment eluted from the erythro‐iridophores indicated that carotenoid is the main pigment generating the reddish color. Furthermore, when the irrigating medium was a K+‐rich saline solution, the color reflected from the erythro‐iridophores changed from dark violet to sky blue, but the red coloration remained. The motile activities of the erythro‐iridophores may participate in the changes in the reddish‐violet shades of the pseudochromis fish.
ISSN:1755-1471
1755-148X
DOI:10.1111/j.1755-148X.2011.00861.x