Fig. 2: Visual environment alters xanthophore number and pigment dispersal in A. burtoni.
From: DNA methylation of the endothelin receptor B makes blue fish yellow
Changes in the visual environment shape the pigmentation of A. burtoni. Wild-type (WT) blue (A) and yellow (B) morphs; Tail fin sample insets at two magnifications: Scale bars are 600 μm (i) and 200 μm (ii) fin area following a 10−5 M norepinephrine treatment. Yellow xanthophore number/ total area of sampled micrograph (C) and % dispersal of yellow xanthophores (unpaired two-tailed t-test, t(8) = 6.07, p = 0.0003; mean difference = 0.373 ± 0.061 SEM; 95% CI [0.231, 0.515]; η² = 0.822; N = 5 fish per group; variances not significantly different by F(4,4) = 4.06, p = 0.204) (D) of WT blue and yellow color morphs (unpaired two-tailed t-test, t(8) = 4.81, p = 0.0013; mean difference = 0.000589 ± 0.000123 SEM; 95% CI [0.000307, 0.000872]; η² = 0.743; N = 5 fish per group). Variances were significantly different by F(4,4) = 19.40, p = 0.0139.). E Yellow xanthophore number / total area of sampled micrograph (repeated measures ANOVA with Geisser–Greenhouse correction, F(1.576, 12.61) = 21.59, p = 0.0002, η² = 0.73, N = 9 fish; Tukey’s post hoc tests: T1 Blue vs. T2 Yellow, p = 0.0036; T2 Yellow vs. T3 Blue, p = 0.0020) and (F) % dispersal of yellow xanthophores of induced color morphs (see Fig. 1C for environmental colors: blue-yellow-blue) at 28-day intervals. (repeated measures ANOVA with Geisser–Greenhouse correction, F(1.161, 9.284) = 190.9, p < 0.0001, η² = 0.96, N = 9 fish; Tukey’s post hoc tests). **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001, ****P < 0.0001. Error bars are shown as the standard error of the mean. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.
