Pineal-specific agouti protein regulates teleost background adaptation
Open accessAbstract
Background adaptation is used by teleosts as one of a variety of camouflage mechanisms for avoidance of predation. Background adaptation is known to involve light sensing by the retina and subsequent regulation of melanophore dispersion or contraction in melanocytes, mediated by α-melanocyte–stimulating hormone and melanin-concentrating hormone, respectively. Here, we demonstrate that an agouti gene unique to teleosts, agrp2 , is specifically expressed in the pineal and is required for up-regulation of hypothalamic pmch and pmchl mRNA and melanosome contraction in dermal melanocytes in response to a white background. floating head , a mutant with defective pineal development, exhibits defective up-regulation of mch mRNAs by white background, whereas nrc , a blind mutant, exhibits a normal response. These studies identify a role for the pineal in background adaptation in teleosts, a unique physiological function for the agouti family of proteins, and define a neuroendocrine axis by which environmental background regulates pigmentation.
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Transcripts of Asip2b were detected in mesenchyme and osteomesenchyme along the fin base and also at the fin edge.
“we detected transcripts of a second Mc1r antagonizing factor, Asip2b (previously, Agouti-related peptide 2, Agrp2) (32) in mesenchyme and osteomesenchyme along the fin base and also at the fin edge”
From Agouti and BMP signaling drive a naturally occurring fate conversion of melanophores to leucophores in zebrafish (2025) · cites this paper as [32]
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The Pineal Gland from Development to Function
Sapède, D., & Cau, E. (2013) · Current Topics in Developmental Biology · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-416021-7.00005-5 · Cited by 102 · see citing works
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- Authors
- Zhang, C., Song, Y., Thompson, D. A., Madonna, M. A., Millhauser, G. L., Toro, S., Varga, Z., Westerfield, M., Gamse, J., Chen, W., & Cone, R. D.
- Affiliations
- Vanderbilt University (US)
- Salk Institute for Biological Studies (US)
- University of California, Santa Cruz (US)
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064;
- University of Oregon (US)
- Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403; and
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center (US)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2010-10-27
- Volume
- 107
- Issue
- 47
- Pages
- 20164-20171
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- PMC
- PMC2996689
- OpenAlex
- W2061634937
- Cited by
- 72
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 10 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 6
- FWCI
- 2.09
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation
- Bristol-Myers Squibb
- National Institutes of Health (HD22486)
- National Eye Institute (R01EY016092)
- National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (R01DC004186)
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (R01DK064265, R01DK088686, R56DK075721, DK 64265, R01DK075721, DK075721)
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD 22486, P01HD022486)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › melanin and skin pigmentation
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Circadian rhythm and melatonin
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuropeptides and Animal Physiology
- Keywords
- background adaptation, camouflage, teleosts, pineal gland, agouti protein, melanin-concentrating hormone, melanocyte-stimulating hormone, dermal melanocytes, pigmentation, retina, neuroendocrine regulation, predator avoidance
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Physiological, Animals, Gene Expression Regulation, Pigmentation, Pineal Gland, Zebrafish, Melanosomes, Receptor, Melanocortin, Type 1, Agouti-Related Protein
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