Diversity of color vision: Not all Australian marsupials are trichromatic
Color vision in marsupials has recently emerged as a particularly interesting case among mammals. It appears that there are both dichromats and trichromats among closely related species. In contrast to primates, marsupials seem to have evolved a different type of trichromacy that is not linked to th...
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| Format: | Journal Article |
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Public Library of Science
2010
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/12990 |
| _version_ | 1848748229081956352 |
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| author | Ebeling, Wiebke Natoli, R. Hemmi, J. |
| author_facet | Ebeling, Wiebke Natoli, R. Hemmi, J. |
| author_sort | Ebeling, Wiebke |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Color vision in marsupials has recently emerged as a particularly interesting case among mammals. It appears that there are both dichromats and trichromats among closely related species. In contrast to primates, marsupials seem to have evolved a different type of trichromacy that is not linked to the X-chromosome. Based on microspectrophotometry and retinal wholemount immunohistochemistry, four trichromatic marsupial species have been described: quokka, quenda, honey possum, and fat-tailed dunnart. It has, however, been impossible to identify the photopigment of the third cone type, and genetically, all evidence so far suggests that all marsupials are dichromatic. The tammar wallaby is the only Australian marsupial to date for which there is no evidence of a third cone type. To clarify whether the wallaby is indeed a dichromat or trichromatic like other Australian marsupials, we analyzed the number of cone types in the ''dichromatic'' wallaby and the ''trichromatic'' dunnart. Employing identical immunohistochemical protocols, we confirmed that the wallaby has only two cone types, whereas 20-25% of cones remained unlabeled by S- and LM-opsin antibodies in the dunnart retina. In addition, we found no evidence to support the hypothesis that the rod photopigment (rod opsin) is expressed in cones which would have explained the absence of a third cone opsin gene. Our study is the first comprehensive and quantitative account of color vision in Australian marsupials where we now know that an unexpected diversity of different color vision systems appears to have evolved. © 2010 Ebeling et al. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:01:43Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-12990 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T07:01:43Z |
| publishDate | 2010 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-129902017-09-13T15:01:02Z Diversity of color vision: Not all Australian marsupials are trichromatic Ebeling, Wiebke Natoli, R. Hemmi, J. Color vision in marsupials has recently emerged as a particularly interesting case among mammals. It appears that there are both dichromats and trichromats among closely related species. In contrast to primates, marsupials seem to have evolved a different type of trichromacy that is not linked to the X-chromosome. Based on microspectrophotometry and retinal wholemount immunohistochemistry, four trichromatic marsupial species have been described: quokka, quenda, honey possum, and fat-tailed dunnart. It has, however, been impossible to identify the photopigment of the third cone type, and genetically, all evidence so far suggests that all marsupials are dichromatic. The tammar wallaby is the only Australian marsupial to date for which there is no evidence of a third cone type. To clarify whether the wallaby is indeed a dichromat or trichromatic like other Australian marsupials, we analyzed the number of cone types in the ''dichromatic'' wallaby and the ''trichromatic'' dunnart. Employing identical immunohistochemical protocols, we confirmed that the wallaby has only two cone types, whereas 20-25% of cones remained unlabeled by S- and LM-opsin antibodies in the dunnart retina. In addition, we found no evidence to support the hypothesis that the rod photopigment (rod opsin) is expressed in cones which would have explained the absence of a third cone opsin gene. Our study is the first comprehensive and quantitative account of color vision in Australian marsupials where we now know that an unexpected diversity of different color vision systems appears to have evolved. © 2010 Ebeling et al. 2010 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/12990 10.1371/journal.pone.0014231 Public Library of Science unknown |
| spellingShingle | Ebeling, Wiebke Natoli, R. Hemmi, J. Diversity of color vision: Not all Australian marsupials are trichromatic |
| title | Diversity of color vision: Not all Australian marsupials are trichromatic |
| title_full | Diversity of color vision: Not all Australian marsupials are trichromatic |
| title_fullStr | Diversity of color vision: Not all Australian marsupials are trichromatic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Diversity of color vision: Not all Australian marsupials are trichromatic |
| title_short | Diversity of color vision: Not all Australian marsupials are trichromatic |
| title_sort | diversity of color vision: not all australian marsupials are trichromatic |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/12990 |