Skip to main content
profile image
Selected Works of Meredith Protas
Article
Unraveling the thread of nature’s tapestry: the genetics of diversity and convergence in animal pigmentation
Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research (2012)
  • Marcus R. Kronforst, FAS Center for Systems Biology, Harvard University
  • Gregory S. Barsh, Department of Genetics, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford
  • Artyom Kopp, Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis
  • James Mallet, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University
  • Antonia Monteiro, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University
  • Sean P. Mullen, Department of Biology, Boston University
  • Meredith E. Protas, Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley
  • Erica B. Rosenblum, Department of Environmental Science, Policy, & Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley
  • Christopher J. Schneider, Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston
  • Hopi E. Hoekstra, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University
Find in your library
Abstract
Animals display incredibly diverse color patterns yet little is known about the underlying genetic basis of these phenotypes. However, emerging results are reshaping our view of how the process of phenotypic evolution occurs. Here, we outline recent research from three particularly active areas of investigation: melanin pigmentation in Drosophila, wing patterning in butterflies, and pigment variation in lizards. For each system, we highlight (i) the function and evolution of color variation, (ii) various approaches that have been used to explore the genetic basis of pigment variation, and (iii) conclusions regarding the genetic basis of convergent evolution which have emerged from comparative analyses. Results from these studies indicate that natural variation in pigmentation is a particularly powerful tool to examine the molecular basis of evolution, especially with regard to convergent or parallel evolution. Comparison of these systems also reveals that the molecular basis of convergent evolution is heterogeneous, sometimes involving conserved mechanisms and sometimes not. In the near future, additional work in other emerging systems will substantially expand the scope of available comparisons.
Keywords
  • pigment,
  • pigmentation
Disciplines
Publication Date
June 19, 2012
DOI
10.1111/j.1755-148X.2012.01014.x
Citation Information
Marcus R. Kronforst, Gregory S. Barsh, Artyom Kopp, James Mallet, et al.. "Unraveling the thread of nature’s tapestry: the genetics of diversity and convergence in animal pigmentation" Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research Vol. 25 Iss. 4 (2012) p. 411 - 433 ISSN: 1755-1471
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/meredith-protas/14/