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Origins of adult pigmentation: diversity in pigment stem cell lineages and implications for pattern evolution
Author(s) -
Parichy David M.,
Spiewak Jessica E.
Publication year - 2015
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/pcmr.12332
Subject(s) - biology , chromatophore , neural crest , vertebrate , evolutionary biology , embryonic stem cell , stem cell , camouflage , zoology , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , embryo , gene
Summary Teleosts comprise about half of all vertebrate species and exhibit an extraordinary diversity of adult pigment patterns that function in shoaling, camouflage, and mate choice and have played important roles in speciation. Here, we review studies that have identified several distinct neural crest lineages, with distinct genetic requirements, that give rise to adult pigment cells in fishes. These lineages include post‐embryonic, peripheral nerve‐associated stem cells that generate black melanophores and iridescent iridophores, cells derived directly from embryonic neural crest cells that generate yellow‐orange xanthophores, and bipotent stem cells that generate both melanophores and xanthophores. This complexity in adult chromatophore lineages has implications for our understanding of adult traits, melanoma, and the evolutionary diversification of pigment cell lineages and patterns.