|
Nicholas I. Mundy1 1Department of Zoology, Cambridge University, United Kindgom Abstract Identification of the genes involved in adaptive phenotypic evolution in primates, and the determination of the precise roles of these genes in phenotypic change is challenging. For non-human primates, studies in other mammals or humans can lead to the identification of genes with candidate evolutionary roles. Coat colour and colour vision are two systems in which considerable knowledge of physiology and genetics are available from other mammals, and that therefore lend themselves to this approach. As part of a project to investigate the genetic basis of evolutionary change in primate coat colour we have performed comparative sequencing of two well-known coat colour genes, MC1R and ASP. Results suggest a scenario in which both of these loci played a role in the evolution of coat colour in lion tamarins (Leontopithecus). An interesting implication is that understanding of the genetic basis of coat colour will aid reconstruction of ancestral coloration in primates. Most platyrrhines and some lemurs show extraordinary intraspecific variation in colour vision: all males are dichromatic whereas females may be dichromatic or trichromatic. This is caused by a polymorphism in an X-linked opsin gene, but the mechanism maintaining the polymorphism is poorly understood. Recent studies in callitrichids in field and captive settings have shown the potential importance of two underappreciated factors: inbreeding avoidance and foraging efficiency in different light levels. |