ABSTRACT
Pigments are largely responsible for the appearance of organisms. Most biological pigments derive from the metabolism of shikimic acid (melanins), mevalonic acid (carotenoids) or levulinic acid (porphyrins), which thus generate the observed diversity of external phenotypes. Starlings are generally dark birds despite iridescence in feathers, but 10% of species have evolved plumage pigmentation comprising bright colors that are known to be produced only by carotenoids. However, using micro-Raman spectroscopy, we have discovered that the bright yellow plumage coloration of one of these species, the Afrotropical golden-breasted starling Cosmopsarus regius, is not produced by carotenoids, but by vitamin A (all-trans-retinol). This is the first organism reported to deposit significant amounts of vitamin A in its integument and use it as a body pigment. Phylogenetic reconstructions reveal that the retinol-based pigmentation of the golden-breasted starling has independently appeared in the starling family from dark ancestors. Our study thus unveils a unique evolution of a new class of external pigments consisting of retinoids.
FOOTNOTES
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing or financial interests.
Author contributions
Conceptualization: I.G.; Methodology: I.G., K.M., A.J., Á.R., M.Z.; Formal analysis: I.G., K.M., A.J., M.Z.; Investigation: I.G., K.M., M.Z.; Resources: K.M., M.Z.; Writing - original draft: I.G.; Supervision: Á.R.; Funding acquisition: I.G., Á.R., M.Z.
Funding
Financial support was obtained from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO; CGL2015-67796-P and CTQ2016-78793-P), and from Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha (SBPLY/17/180501/000262). I.G. benefits from a Ramón y Cajal Fellowship (RYC-2012-10237) from MINECO.
- Received April 12, 2019.
- Accepted May 11, 2019.
- © 2019. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd
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