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Integumental reddish‐violet coloration owing to novel dichromatic chromatophores in the teleost fish, Pseudochromis diadema
Author(s) -
Goda Makoto,
Ohata Mihoko,
Ikoma Hayato,
Fujiyoshi Yoshinori,
Sugimoto Masazumi,
Fujii Ryozo
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
pigment cell and melanoma research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.618
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1755-148X
pISSN - 1755-1471
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-148x.2011.00861.x
Subject(s) - chromatophore , pigment , biology , fish <actinopterygii> , anatomy , chemistry , fishery , organic chemistry
Summary In the reddish‐violet parts of the skin of the diadema pseudochromis Pseudochromis diadema , we found novel dichromatic chromatophores with a reddish pigment and reflecting platelets. We named these novel cells ‘erythro‐iridophores’. In standard physiological solution, erythro‐iridophores displayed two hues, red and dark violet when viewed with an optical microscope under ordinary transmission light and epi‐illumination optics, respectively. Under transmission electron microscopy, however, we observed no typical red chromatosomes, i.e., erythrosomes, in the cytoplasm. High‐performance thin‐layer chromatography (HPTLC) analysis of the pigment eluted from the erythro‐iridophores indicated that carotenoid is the main pigment generating the reddish color. Furthermore, when the irrigating medium was a K + ‐rich saline solution, the color reflected from the erythro‐iridophores changed from dark violet to sky blue, but the red coloration remained. The motile activities of the erythro‐iridophores may participate in the changes in the reddish‐violet shades of the pseudochromis fish.