Data from: Exploring visual plasticity: dietary carotenoids can change color vision in guppies (Poecilia reticulata)

Differences in color vision can play a key role in an organism’s ability to perceive and interact with the environment across a broad range of taxa. Recently, species have been shown to vary in color vision across populations as a result of differences in regulatory sequence and/or plasticity of opsin gene expression. For decades, biologists have been intrigued by among-population variation in color-based mate preferences of female Trinidadian guppies. We proposed that some of this variation results from variation in color vision caused by plasticity in opsin expression. Specifically, we asked about the role of dietary carotenoid availability, because carotenoids (1) are the precursors for vitamin A, which is essential for the creation of photopigments and (2) have been linked to variation in female mate choice. We raised guppies on different carotenoid-level diets and measured opsin expression. Guppies raised on high-carotenoid diets expressed higher levels of long wavelength sensitive opsin (LWS) opsins than those raised on lower levels of carotenoids. These results suggest that dietary effects on opsin expression represent a previously unaccounted for mechanism by which ecological differences across populations could lead to mate choice differences.

色彩视觉差异在广泛类群的生物感知与环境互动的能力中发挥关键作用。近期研究证实，各类物种的不同种群间，色彩视觉存在差异，此类差异源于调控序列的差异以及视蛋白（opsin）基因表达的可塑性。数十年来，生物学家一直对雌性特立尼达孔雀鱼（Trinidadian guppies）基于色彩的择偶偏好所存在的种群间差异颇感兴趣。我们提出，这类差异的部分成因，是视蛋白表达可塑性所引发的色彩视觉差异。具体而言，我们探讨了膳食类胡萝卜素（carotenoid）可获得性的作用，原因在于类胡萝卜素具备两点关键属性：其一，它是维生素A的前体物质，而维生素A对光色素（photopigments）的合成至关重要；其二，它已被证实与雌性择偶偏好的差异存在关联。我们采用不同类胡萝卜素水平的膳食饲养孔雀鱼，并对其视蛋白表达量进行了检测。饲喂高类胡萝卜素膳食的孔雀鱼，其长波长敏感视蛋白（LWS）的表达水平显著高于饲喂低类胡萝卜素膳食的个体。上述结果表明，膳食对视蛋白表达的调控作用，是此前未被探明的一种机制：种群间的生态差异可通过该机制引发择偶偏好的差异。