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Characterization of opsin gene alleles affecting color vision in a wild population of titi monkeys ( Callicebus brunneus )
Author(s) -
Bunce John A.,
Isbell Lynne A.,
Neitz Maureen,
Bonci Daniela,
Surridge Alison K.,
Jacobs Gerald H.,
Smith David Glenn
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
american journal of primatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.988
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1098-2345
pISSN - 0275-2565
DOI - 10.1002/ajp.20890
Subject(s) - photopigment , biology , primate , trichromacy , allele , locus (genetics) , genetics , population , color vision , opsin , cebidae , zoology , gene , rhodopsin , ecology , botany , retinal , medicine , computer science , computer vision , environmental health
The color vision of most platyrrhine primates is determined by alleles at the polymorphic X‐linked locus coding for the opsin responsible for the middle‐ to long‐wavelength (M/L) cone photopigment. Females who are heterozygous at the locus have trichromatic vision, whereas homozygous females and all males are dichromatic. This study characterized the opsin alleles in a wild population of the socially monogamous platyrrhine monkey Callicebus brunneus (the brown titi monkey), a primate that an earlier study suggests may possess an unusual number of alleles at this locus and thus may be a subject of special interest in the study of primate color vision. Direct sequencing of regions of the M/L opsin gene using feces‐, blood‐, and saliva‐derived DNA obtained from 14 individuals yielded evidence for the presence of three functionally distinct alleles, corresponding to the most common M/L photopigment variants inferred from a physiological study of cone spectral sensitivity in captive Callicebus . Am. J. Primatol. 73:189–196, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.