Pineal-specific agouti protein regulates teleost background adaptation.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Zhang C
PROVIDER: S-EPMC2996689 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Nov
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Pineal-specific agouti protein regulates teleost background adaptation.
Zhang Chao C Song Youngsup Y Thompson Darren A DA Madonna Michael A MA Millhauser Glenn L GL Toro Sabrina S Varga Zoltan Z Westerfield Monte M Gamse Joshua J Chen Wenbiao W Cone Roger D RD
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20101027 47
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-regulat ...[more]
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