GEPHE SUMMARY Print
Gephebase Gene
Entry Status
Published
GepheID
GP00000202
Main curator
Martin
PHENOTYPIC CHANGE
Trait Category
Trait State in Taxon A
Taeniopygia guttata
Trait State in Taxon B
Taeniopygia guttata - yellowbeak
Ancestral State
Taxon A
Taxonomic Status
Taxon A
Common Name
zebra finch
Synonyms
Poephila guttata; Taenopygia guttata; zebra finch; Taeniopygia guttata (Vieillot, 1817)
Rank
species
Lineage
Show more ... etrapoda; Amniota; Sauropsida; Sauria; Archelosauria; Archosauria; Dinosauria; Saurischia; Theropoda; Coelurosauria; Aves; Neognathae; Passeriformes; Passeroidea; Estrildidae; Estrildinae; Taeniopygia
NCBI Taxonomy ID
is Taxon A an Infraspecies?
No
Taxon B
Common Name
zebra finch
Synonyms
Poephila guttata; Taenopygia guttata; zebra finch; Taeniopygia guttata (Vieillot, 1817)
Rank
species
Lineage
Show more ... etrapoda; Amniota; Sauropsida; Sauria; Archelosauria; Archosauria; Dinosauria; Saurischia; Theropoda; Coelurosauria; Aves; Neognathae; Passeriformes; Passeroidea; Estrildidae; Estrildinae; Taeniopygia
NCBI Taxonomy ID
is Taxon B an Infraspecies?
No
GENOTYPIC CHANGE
UniProtKB
Homo sapiens
GenebankID or UniProtKB
Presumptive Null
Yes
Molecular Type
Aberration Type
Deletion Size
10-100 kb
Molecular Details of the Mutation
13kb deletion including complete loss of the CYP2J19A copy and cis-regulatory effects on CYP2J19B
Experimental Evidence
Authors
Mundy NI; Stapley J; Bennison C; Tucker R; Twyman H; Kim KW; Burke T; Birkhead TR; et al. ... show more
Abstract
Bright-red colors in vertebrates are commonly involved in sexual, social, and interspecific signaling [1-8] and are largely produced by ketocarotenoid pigments. In land birds, ketocarotenoids such as astaxanthin are usually metabolically derived via ketolation of dietary yellow carotenoids [9, 10]. However, the molecular basis of this gene-environment mechanism has remained obscure. Here we use the yellowbeak mutation in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) to investigate the genetic basis of red coloration. Wild-type ketocarotenoids were absent in the beak and tarsus of yellowbeak birds. The yellowbeak mutation mapped to chromosome 8, close to a cluster of cytochrome P450 loci (CYP2J2-like) that are candidates for carotenoid ketolases. The wild-type zebra finch genome was found to have three intact genes in this cluster: CYP2J19A, CYP2J19B, and CYP2J40. In yellowbeak, there are multiple mutations: loss of a complete CYP2J19 gene, a modified remaining CYP2J19 gene (CYP2J19(yb)), and a non-synonymous SNP in CYP2J40. In wild-type birds, CYP2J19 loci are expressed in ketocarotenoid-containing tissues: CYP2J19A only in the retina and CYP2J19B in the beak and tarsus and to a variable extent in the retina. In contrast, expression of CYP2J19(yb) is barely detectable in the beak of yellowbeak birds. CYP2J40 has broad tissue expression and shows no differences between wild-type and yellowbeak. Our results indicate that CYP2J19 genes are strong candidates for the carotenoid ketolase and imply that ketolation occurs in the integument in zebra finches. Since cytochrome P450 enzymes include key detoxification enzymes, our results raise the intriguing possibility that red coloration may be an honest signal of detoxification ability.

Copyright © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.
Additional References
RELATED GEPHE
Related Genes
No matches found.
Related Haplotypes
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