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Guanine-based structural coloration as an indicator of oxidative stress in a cichlid fish
- Source :
- Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological Genetics and Physiology. 323:359-367
- Publication Year :
- 2015
- Publisher :
- Wiley, 2015.
-
Abstract
- Vertebrate pigmentation is known to be influenced by oxidative stress, but few studies have tested the hypothesis that structural coloration can be similarly affected. We tested whether fish iridophores, which produce structural color using guanine stacks, might be affected by the prooxidant-antioxidant balance of the animal. Specifically, we hypothesized that convict cichlids (Amatitlania nigrofasciata) metabolize guanine present in iridophores to uric acid, an antioxidant, in response to oxidative damage. We used Hunter's contrast gloss and high performance liquid chromatography to determine whether dietary guanine supplementation allows fish to maintain their structural coloration despite oxidative stress induced via ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation. We found that dietary guanine was associated with greater skin gloss, and that exposure to UV-B light reduced glossiness. UV-B exposure did not increase oxidative damage (acrolein) or total antioxidant capacity in the skin or liver. Our experiment did not detect effects of dietary guanine or UV-B light on uric acid, but uric acid was positively related to antioxidant capacity. Our results support the hypothesis that structural color in fish may be altered by environmental stressors such as exposure to UV light, and highlight the need for future studies to consider the role of iridophores in condition-dependent visual signaling.
- Subjects :
- Antioxidant
biology
Physiology
Guanine
medicine.medical_treatment
Acrolein
biology.organism_classification
medicine.disease_cause
Chromatophore
chemistry.chemical_compound
chemistry
Biochemistry
Cichlid
Genetics
medicine
Uric acid
Animal Science and Zoology
14. Life underwater
Molecular Biology
Convict cichlid
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Oxidative stress
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 19325223
- Volume :
- 323
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological Genetics and Physiology
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........36ff69ece369a985a38dec6c256e9604