Vibrational spectroscopic analyses of unique yellow feather pigments (spheniscins) in penguins

Author:

Thomas Daniel B.12,McGoverin Cushla M.3,McGraw Kevin J.4,James Helen F.1,Madden Odile2

Affiliation:

1. Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013, USA

2. Museum Conservation Institute, Smithsonian Institution, Suitland, MD 20746, USA

3. Department of Bioengineering, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA

4. School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA

Abstract

Many animals extract, synthesize and refine chemicals for colour display, where a range of compounds and structures can produce a diverse colour palette. Feather colours, for example, span the visible spectrum and mostly result from pigments in five chemical classes (carotenoids, melanins, porphyrins, psittacofulvins and metal oxides). However, the pigment that generates the yellow colour of penguin feathers appears to represent a sixth, poorly characterized class of feather pigments. This pigment class, here termed ‘spheniscin’, is displayed by half of the living penguin genera; the larger and richer colour displays of the pigment are highly attractive. Using Raman and mid-infrared spectroscopies, we analysed yellow feathers from two penguin species (king penguin, Aptenodytes patagonicus ; macaroni penguin, Eudyptes chrysolophus ) to further characterize spheniscin pigments. The Raman spectrum of spheniscin is distinct from spectra of other feather pigments and exhibits 17 distinctive spectral bands between 300 and 1700 cm −1 . Spectral bands from the yellow pigment are assigned to aromatically bound carbon atoms, and to skeletal modes in an aromatic, heterocyclic ring. It has been suggested that the penguin pigment is a pterin compound; Raman spectra from yellow penguin feathers are broadly consistent with previously reported pterin spectra, although we have not matched it to any known compound. Raman spectroscopy can provide a rapid and non-destructive method for surveying the distribution of different classes of feather pigments in the avian family tree, and for correlating the chemistry of spheniscin with compounds analysed elsewhere. We suggest that the sixth class of feather pigments may have evolved in a stem-lineage penguin and endowed modern penguins with a costly plumage trait that appears to be chemically unique among birds.

Publisher

The Royal Society

Subject

Biomedical Engineering,Biochemistry,Biomaterials,Bioengineering,Biophysics,Biotechnology

Reference84 articles.

1. XXII. On the thermal resistance of liquids

2. Die Farbstoffe der Federn;Krukenberg CFW;Vergleich. Physiol. Studien,1881

3. Die Federfarbstoffe der Psittaciden;Krukenberg CFW;Vergleich. Physiol. Studien,1882

4. The development of color in the definitive feather;Strong RM;Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard,1902

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3