Fish pigmentation and the melanocortin system
Abstract
The melanocortin system is a complex neuroendocrine signaling mechanism involved in numerous physiological processes in vertebrates, including pigmentation, steroidogenesis and metabolic control. This review focuses at one of its most fascinating function in fish, its regulatory role in the control of pigmentation, in which the melanocortin 1 receptor (Mc1r), its agonist α-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-Msh), and the endogenous antagonist agouti signaling protein (Asip1) are the main players. Functional control of Mc1r, which is highly expressed in fish skin and whose activation stimulates melanin production and melanosome dispersion in fish melanophores, is considered a key mechanism for vertebrate pigment phenotypes. The α-Msh peptide, the most documented Mc1r agonist involved in pigmentation, is produced in the pituitary gland, activating melanin synthesis by binding to Mc1r in fish melanophores. Finally, Asip1 is the putative factor for establishing the evolutionarily conserved dorso-ventral pigment pattern found across vertebrates. However, we are just starting to understand how other melanocortin system components are acting in this complex regulatory network.
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Teleosts have several Agouti-related genes due to the teleost specific genome duplication.
“Due to the teleost specific genome duplication, teleosts have several Agouti-related genes (29–31)”
From Agouti and BMP signaling drive a naturally occurring fate conversion of melanophores to leucophores in zebrafish (2025) · cites this paper as [30]
The Introduction identifies four teleost agouti-family genes and describes a model in which the teleost genome duplication produced the asip2a/asip2b pair. It also says other family members arose before that duplication and that the family's evolutionary history is contested. Thus, the paper supports a contribution from the teleost duplication, but not the unqualified claim that it explains the presence of several Agouti-related genes. (LLM, conf=0.85)
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Valverde, P., Healy, E., Jackson, I., Rees, J. L., & Thody, A. J. (1995) · Nature Genetics · doi:10.1038/ng1195-328 · Cited by 999 · see citing works
Gross, J. B., Borowsky, R., & Tabin, C. J. (2009) · PLoS Genetics · doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1000326 · Cited by 299 · see citing works
Higdon, C. W., Mitra, R. D., & Johnson, S. L. (2013) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0067801 · Cited by 125 · see citing works
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Huang, D., Kapadia, E. H., Liang, Y., Shriver, L. P., Dai, S., Patti, G. J., Humbel, B. M., Laudet, V., & Parichy, D. M. (2025) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2424180122 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
- Authors
- Cal, L., Suarez-Bregua, P., Cerdá-Reverter, J. M., Braasch, I., & Rotllant, J.
- Affiliations
- Instituto de Investigacións Mariñas (ES)
- Michigan State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Rotllant, Josep
- Venue
- Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2017-09
- Volume
- 211
- Pages
- 26-33
- ISSN
- 1095-6433 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2624067056
- Cited by
- 159
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 17 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 2
- FWCI
- 1.32
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A Molecular & Integrative Physiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DIGITAL.CSIC (Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)) (acceptedVersion)
- DIGITAL.CSIC (Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (ALG2011-23581, AGL2014-52473R, BES-2012-055414)
- Campus do Mar (AGL2014-52473R)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › melanin and skin pigmentation
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Zebrafish Biomedical Research Applications
- Keywords
- fish coloration, melanocortin system, MC1R, alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, ASIP, melanophores, melanogenesis, melanosome dispersion, neuroendocrine signaling, fish skin
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Fishes, Skin Pigmentation, Receptor, Melanocortin, Type 1, Melanocortins
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