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First published online March 28, 2008
Journal of Experimental Biology 211, 1257-1261 (2008)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2008
doi: 10.1242/jeb.015065

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Carotenoid intake does not mediate a relationship between reactive oxygen species and bright colouration: experimental test in a lizard

Mats Olsson^1,*, Mark Wilson¹, Caroline Isaksson², Tobias Uller^1,3 and Beth Mott¹

¹ School of Biological Sciences, The University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
² Department of Zoology, University of Gothenburg, Box 405, SE 413 90 Gothenburg, Sweden
³ Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: molsson{at}uow.edu.au)

Accepted 27 January 2008

We performed experiments on male Australian painted dragon lizards (Ctenophorus pictus) to test the hypothesis that carotenoids can scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS), protecting the organism from oxidative stress, and that this capacity is reflected in skin colours involved in signalling. Subsequent to 4 weeks of carotenoid treatment we used flow cytometry to analyse unspecified ROS (H₂O₂, singlet oxygen, superoxide and peroxynitrite level), hereafter termed ROS, and baseline superoxide specifically (bSO in peripheral blood cells). Mean background levels of ROS and bSO did not differ between carotenoid-treated and control males. bSO, which represents the superoxide level in un-manipulated blood, was negatively correlated with colour development in all males, regardless of carotenoid treatment. Thus, carotenoid intake does not reduce circulating levels of ROS or bSO, suggesting that carotenoids are inefficient antioxidants in vivo and, therefore, are unlikely to provide a direct link between oxidative stress and colouration.

Key words: reactive oxygen species (ROS), carotenoids, colouration, lizards

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