Feather Gene Expression Elucidates the Developmental Basis of Plumage Iridescence in African Starlings

Author:

Rubenstein Dustin R12ORCID,Corvelo André3,MacManes Matthew D4ORCID,Maia Rafael1,Narzisi Giuseppe3ORCID,Rousaki Anastasia5,Vandenabeele Peter56,Shawkey Matthew D7,Solomon Joseph1

Affiliation:

1. Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY

2. Center for Integrative Animal Behavior, Columbia University, New York, NY

3. New York Genome Center, New York, NY

4. Department of Molecular, Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH

5. Raman Spectroscopy Research Group, Department of Chemistry, Ghent University, Krigslaan, Ghent, Belgium

6. Archaeometry Research Group, Department of Archaeology, Ghent University, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat, Ghent, Belgium

7. Evolution and Optics of Nanostructures Group, Department of Biology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

Abstract

Abstract Iridescence is widespread in the living world, occurring in organisms as diverse as bacteria, plants, and animals. Yet, compared to pigment-based forms of coloration, we know surprisingly little about the developmental and molecular bases of the structural colors that give rise to iridescence. Birds display a rich diversity of iridescent structural colors that are produced in feathers by the arrangement of melanin-containing organelles called melanosomes into nanoscale configurations, but how these often unusually shaped melanosomes form, or how they are arranged into highly organized nanostructures, remains largely unknown. Here, we use functional genomics to explore the developmental basis of iridescent plumage using superb starlings (Lamprotornis superbus), which produce both iridescent blue and non-iridescent red feathers. Through morphological and chemical analyses, we confirm that hollow, flattened melanosomes in iridescent feathers are eumelanin-based, whereas melanosomes in non-iridescent feathers are solid and amorphous, suggesting that high pheomelanin content underlies red coloration. Intriguingly, the nanoscale arrangement of melanosomes within the barbules was surprisingly similar between feather types. After creating a new genome assembly, we use transcriptomics to show that non-iridescent feather development is associated with genes related to pigmentation, metabolism, and mitochondrial function, suggesting non-iridescent feathers are more energetically expensive to produce than iridescent feathers. However, iridescent feather development is associated with genes related to structural and cellular organization, suggesting that, while nanostructures themselves may passively assemble, barbules and melanosomes may require active organization to give them their shape. Together, our analyses suggest that iridescent feathers form through a combination of passive self-assembly and active processes.

Funder

US National Science Foundation

Simons Foundation Society of Fellows

Research Foundation–Flanders

US Air Force Office of Scientific Research

Human Frontiers Science Program

Publisher

Oxford University Press (OUP)

Subject

Genetics(clinical),Genetics,Molecular Biology,Biotechnology

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