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Cyclic colour change in the bearded dragon Pogona vitticeps under different photoperiods.

ABSTRACT: The ability to change colour rapidly is widespread among ectotherms and has various functions including camouflage, communication and thermoregulation. The process of colour change can occur as an aperiodic event or be rhythmic, induced by cyclic environmental factors or regulated by internal oscillators. Despite the importance of colour change in reptile ecology, few studies have investigated the occurrence of a circadian rhythm in lizard pigmentation. Additionally, although colour change also entails changes in near-infrared reflectance, which may affect thermoregulation, little research has examined this part of the spectrum. We tested whether the bearded dragon lizard, Pogona vitticeps, displays an endogenous circadian rhythm in pigmentation changes that could be entrained by light/dark (LD) cycles and how light affected the relative change in reflectance in both ultraviolet-visible and near-infrared spectra. We subjected 11 lizards to four photoperiodic regimens: LD 12:12; LD 6:18; LD 18:6 and DD; and measured their dorsal skin reflectance at 3-hour intervals for 72 hours after a habituation period. A proportion of lizards displayed a significant rhythm under constant darkness, with maximum reflectance occurring in the subjective night. This endogenous rhythm synchronised to the different artificial LD cycles, with maximum reflectance occurring during dark phases, but did not vary in amplitude. In addition, the total ultraviolet-visible reflectance in relation to the total near-infrared reflectance was significantly higher during dark phases than during light phases. We conclude that P. vitticeps exhibits a circadian pigmentation rhythm of constant amplitude, regulated by internal oscillators and that can be entrained by light/dark cycles.

SUBMITTER: Fan M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4213017 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Cyclic colour change in the bearded dragon Pogona vitticeps under different photoperiods.

Fan Marie M Stuart-Fox Devi D Cadena Viviana V

PloS one 20141029 10

The ability to change colour rapidly is widespread among ectotherms and has various functions including camouflage, communication and thermoregulation. The process of colour change can occur as an aperiodic event or be rhythmic, induced by cyclic environmental factors or regulated by internal oscillators. Despite the importance of colour change in reptile ecology, few studies have investigated the occurrence of a circadian rhythm in lizard pigmentation. Additionally, although colour change also ...[more]

PMID: 25354192

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Project description:Imaging techniques have proved to be crucial for diagnosis in reptile species. The topography of the internal organs of bearded dragons has been described in recent studies as meeting the small animal practitioners´ demand for knowledge concerning their anatomy. However, the nomenclature in the respective literature is not uniform, which could lead to misunderstandings concerning the respective and/or affected parts of the alimentary canal. Therefore, the aim of this study was to provide clear information on anatomy and histology of the alimentary canal of bearded dragons including supplying blood vessels. For the dissection of the alimentary canal, 11 Inland Bearded Dragons (Pogona vitticeps) were used (five males, six females), which had been euthanised for clinical reasons other than those concerning the digestive tract or had died spontaneously. The supplying arteries were demonstrated by injecting red latex into the aorta, while the intestinal veins were filled with blue latex via the portal vein. Microscopic examination was carried out on specimens of seven additional bearded dragons using routine histologic procedures. Macroscopically, the sections of the alimentary canal from oral to aboral were distinguished into oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, colic ampulla, colic isthmus, rectum and cloaca. Differentiation of the duodenum, jejunum and ileum was only possible when considering the bile duct, the vasculature and the histology of the organ wall. Arteries supplying the oesophagus and the final straight part of the large intestine originated from the aorta in a segmental manner. Between these, three unpaired arteries arose from the aorta. Their branches supplied stomach and intestine excluding its last part. Based on the findings of the present study, a nomenclature for the different parts of the alimentary canal and the supplying blood vessels of bearded dragons is suggested which is well understandable for veterinary practitioners and is based on zoological knowledge of reptiles.

Project description:BackgroundThe development of male- or female-specific phenotypes in squamates is typically controlled by either temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) or chromosome-based genetic sex determination (GSD). However, while sex determination is a major switch in individual phenotypic development, it is unknownhow evolutionary transitions between GSD and TSD might impact on the evolution of squamate phenotypes, particularly the fast-evolving and diverse genitalia. Here, we take the unique opportunity of studying the impact of both sex determination mechanisms on the embryological development of the central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps). This is possible because of the transitional sex determination system of this species, in which genetically male individuals reverse sex at high incubation temperatures. This can trigger the evolutionary transition of GSD to TSD in a single generation, making P. vitticeps an ideal model organism for comparing the effects of both sex determination processes in the same species.ResultsWe conducted four incubation experiments on 265 P. vitticeps eggs, covering two temperature regimes ("normal" at 28 °C and "sex reversing" at 36 °C) and the two maternal sexual genotypes (concordant ZW females or sex-reversed ZZ females). From this, we provide the first detailed staging system for the species, with a focus on genital and limb development. This was augmented by a new sex chromosome identification methodology for P. vitticeps that is non-destructive to the embryo. We found a strong correlation between embryo age and embryo stage. Aside from faster growth in 36 °C treatments, body and external genital development was entirely unperturbed by temperature, sex reversal or maternal sexual genotype. Unexpectedly, all females developed hemipenes (the genital phenotype of adult male P. vitticeps), which regress close to hatching.ConclusionsThe tight correlation between embryo age and embryo stage allows the precise targeting of specific developmental periods in the emerging field of molecular research on P. vitticeps. The stability of genital development in all treatments suggests that the two sex-determining mechanisms have little impact on genital evolution, despite their known role in triggering genital development. Hemipenis retention in developing female P. vitticeps, together with frequent occurrences of hemipenis-like structures during development in other squamate species, raises the possibility of a bias towards hemipenis formation in the ancestral developmental programme for squamate genitalia.

Project description:Squamates (lizards and snakes) are a speciose lineage of reptiles displaying considerable karyotypic diversity, particularly among lizards. Understanding the evolution of this diversity requires comparison of genome organisation between species. Although the genomes of several squamate species have now been sequenced, only the green anole lizard has any sequence anchored to chromosomes. There is only limited gene mapping data available for five other squamates. This makes it difficult to reconstruct the events that have led to extant squamate karyotypic diversity. The purpose of this study was to anchor the recently sequenced central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps) genome to chromosomes to trace the evolution of squamate chromosomes. Assigning sequence to sex chromosomes was of particular interest for identifying candidate sex determining genes.By using two different approaches to map conserved blocks of genes, we were able to anchor approximately 42 % of the dragon genome sequence to chromosomes. We constructed detailed comparative maps between dragon, anole and chicken genomes, and where possible, made broader comparisons across Squamata using cytogenetic mapping information for five other species. We show that squamate macrochromosomes are relatively well conserved between species, supporting findings from previous molecular cytogenetic studies. Macrochromosome diversity between members of the Toxicofera clade has been generated by intrachromosomal, and a small number of interchromosomal, rearrangements. We reconstructed the ancestral squamate macrochromosomes by drawing upon comparative cytogenetic mapping data from seven squamate species and propose the events leading to the arrangements observed in representative species. In addition, we assigned over 8 Mbp of sequence containing 219 genes to the Z chromosome, providing a list of genes to begin testing as candidate sex determining genes.Anchoring of the dragon genome has provided substantial insight into the evolution of squamate genomes, enabling us to reconstruct ancestral macrochromosome arrangements at key positions in the squamate phylogeny, demonstrating that fusions between macrochromosomes or fusions of macrochromosomes and microchromosomes, have played an important role during the evolution of squamate genomes. Assigning sequence to the sex chromosomes has identified NR5A1 as a promising candidate sex determining gene in the dragon.

Project description:BackgroundHibernation is a physiological state exploited by many animals exposed to prolonged adverse environmental conditions associated with winter. Large changes in metabolism and cellular function occur, with many stress response pathways modulated to tolerate physiological challenges that might otherwise be lethal. Many studies have sought to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of mammalian hibernation, but detailed analyses are lacking in reptiles. Here we examine gene expression in the Australian central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps) using mRNA-seq and label-free quantitative mass spectrometry in matched brain, heart and skeletal muscle samples from animals at late hibernation, 2 days post-arousal and 2 months post-arousal.ResultsWe identified differentially expressed genes in all tissues between hibernation and post-arousal time points; with 4264 differentially expressed genes in brain, 5340 differentially expressed genes in heart, and 5587 differentially expressed genes in skeletal muscle. Furthermore, we identified 2482 differentially expressed genes across all tissues. Proteomic analysis identified 743 proteins (58 differentially expressed) in brain, 535 (57 differentially expressed) in heart, and 337 (36 differentially expressed) in skeletal muscle. Tissue-specific analyses revealed enrichment of protective mechanisms in all tissues, including neuroprotective pathways in brain, cardiac hypertrophic processes in heart, and atrophy protective pathways in skeletal muscle. In all tissues stress response pathways were induced during hibernation, as well as evidence for gene expression regulation at transcription, translation and post-translation.ConclusionsThese results reveal critical stress response pathways and protective mechanisms that allow for maintenance of both tissue-specific function, and survival during hibernation in the central bearded dragon. Furthermore, we provide evidence for multiple levels of gene expression regulation during hibernation, particularly enrichment of miRNA-mediated translational repression machinery; a process that would allow for rapid and energy efficient reactivation of translation from mature mRNA molecules at arousal. This study is the first molecular investigation of its kind in a hibernating reptile, and identifies strategies not yet observed in other hibernators to cope stress associated with this remarkable state of metabolic depression.

Dataset Information

Cyclic colour change in the bearded dragon Pogona vitticeps under different photoperiods.

Publications

Cyclic colour change in the bearded dragon Pogona vitticeps under different photoperiods.

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