DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Evolution of Avian Photopigments: From Opsin Sequences to Color Vision

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What explains the diversity of color in nature, and both our and other animals? great appreciation for beauty in color? Now it is possible to advance our understanding of this through the use of genetic analyses that investigate differences in the molecules involved in color vision and thus, in how color is viewed by different species. This project investigates whether different species of birds perceive color differently, and whether this could explain why different species of birds have evolved dramatically different plumage colors. For example, if one bird is red and one is blue, is this associated with differences in perception of red and of blue? This question is being addressed by studying the opsins from multiple species of warblers, which vary greatly in their color patterns. Opsin proteins are the critical light-absorbing molecules that modulate vision in all vertebrates, including humans. This project combines sequencing of opsin genes, and recreating opsins proteins in the laboratory, with computer modeling to find out whether different species of birds perceive color differently and identify the underlying causes of such differences.Understanding whether changes in opsins are responsible for the observed plumage color differences will give us important insight into the evolutionary processes that gave rise to species diversification and into the origins of the spectacular diversity of colors we see in the animal world. Moreover, since opsins are also responsible for vision in humans, dissecting the molecular bases for changes in vision could help us understand color-blindness and other color vision disorders.