Salamanders and other amphibians are aglow with biofluorescence
Salamanders and other amphibians are aglow with biofluorescence
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DOI：
10.1038/s41598-020-59528-9
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发表时间：
2020-02-27
影响因子：
4.6
通讯作者：
Davis, Matthew P.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Lamb, Jennifer Y.;Davis, Matthew P.
生物荧光是在一个波长下吸收电磁辐射（光），然后由活生物体以较低能量和较长波长再发射。先前的研究已经证明了生物荧光在一些动物中的广泛存在，包括刺胞动物、节肢动物、软骨鱼类和鳍鱼类。许多关于生物荧光的研究都集中在海洋动物（刺胞动物，软骨和鳍鱼），但我们对四足动物中生物荧光的存在知之甚少。我们第一次表明，生物荧光是广泛的两栖类，重点是蝾螈（尾），这是一个多样化的群体，主要是泛北极分布。我们发现，生物荧光并不局限于任何特定的家庭蝾螈，有显着的变化，在他们的荧光图案，并在响应蓝色激发光发射的主要波长范围内的绿色光。在两栖动物辐射中广泛存在的生物荧光是一种以前没有记录的现象，可能对这些多样化和衰退的脊椎动物的生态和进化产生重大影响。我们的研究结果提供了一个路线图，为未来的研究在两栖动物的生物荧光的分子机制的表征，以及方向的生物荧光的视觉生态和行为的生物荧光两栖动物的潜在影响的调查。
Biofluorescence is the absorption of electromagnetic radiation (light) at one wavelength followed by its reemission at a lower energy and longer wavelength by a living organism. Previous studies have documented the widespread presence of biofluorescence in some animals, including cnidarians, arthropods, and cartilaginous and ray-finned fishes. Many studies on biofluorescence have focused on marine animals (cnidarians, cartilaginous and ray-finned fishes) but we know comparatively little about the presence of biofluorescence in tetrapods. We show for the first time that biofluorescence is widespread across Amphibia, with a focus on salamanders (Caudata), which are a diverse group with a primarily Holarctic distribution. We find that biofluorescence is not restricted to any particular family of salamanders, there is striking variation in their fluorescent patterning, and the primary wavelengths emitted in response to blue excitation light are within the spectrum of green light. Widespread biofluorescence across the amphibian radiation is a previously undocumented phenomenon that could have significant ramifications for the ecology and evolution of these diverse and declining vertebrates. Our results provide a roadmap for future studies on the characterization of molecular mechanisms of biofluorescence in amphibians, as well as directions for investigations into the potential impact of biofluorescence on the visual ecology and behavior of biofluorescent amphibians.