image: Three male wild guppies, showing various body colors, and one female. view more
Credit: Image courtesy of Aya Sato (Gunma University, Gunma, Japan).
A study finds that variation in expression of light-sensitive opsin genes in female guppies can be attributed to both allele variations in long-wavelength-sensitive genes and to the light environment during rearing, and that the variation in opsin gene expression influences females' responsiveness to video images showing brightly colored males; the results suggest that female guppies' genetic variation and light environment influence their preferred male coloration and may in turn influence the evolution of diverse male color patterns.
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Article #17-06730: "Genetic and plastic variation in opsin gene expression, light sensitivity, and female response to visual signals in the guppy," by Yusuke Sakai, Shoji Kawamura, and Masakado Kawata.
MEDIA CONTACT: Masakado Kawata, Tohoku University, Sendai, JAPAN; ; e-mail: <kawata@tohoku.ac.jp>
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences