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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Aquatic Physiology
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2024.1482306

Thyroid hormone regulates both melanin and non-melanin pigmentation in Sinibrama taeniatus via three types of chromophores

Provisionally accepted
Xiaoqin Liu Xiaoqin Liu 1Wang Siya Wang Siya 1Qilin Feng Qilin Feng 1Linfeng Cheng Linfeng Cheng 1Ran Teng Ran Teng 1Lan Wei Lan Wei 1Yuanbing Wu Yuanbing Wu 2Dengyue Yuan Dengyue Yuan 1*Zhijian Wang Zhijian Wang 1*
  • 1 Southwest University, Chongqing, China
  • 2 University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Body color is a prominent phenotypic trait and a significant economic characteristic in fish. While current research mainly examines the effects of genetic factors, less emphasis has been placed on the role of endogenous hormones in fish body color. This study investigated the changes in phenotype, pigment content, and related gene expression in juvenile Sinibrama taeniatus after a 30-day treatment with gradient concentrations of L-thyroxine . The results showed that, compared to the control group, the body color of the low-concentration L-thyroxine treatment group (20 nM) was lighter, while that of the high-concentration group (40 nM and 80 nM) was darker. Thyroid hormone treatment simultaneously affected melanophores, xanthophores, and iridophores in different ways, leading to an increase of melanin and guanine, and a reduction of pteridine and β-carotene. These findings suggest that thyroid hormone regulates fish body color pigment synthesis through both melanin-based and non-melanin-based mechanisms. To further understanding of the regulatory roles of thyroid hormone on pigment synthesis, we investigated the expression changes in genes involved in melanin-based and non-melanin-based pigmentation under the different hormonal regimes. Expression of genes involved in melanin-based (e.g. ctnnb1, wnt10b, and adcy3) and non-melanin-based pigmentation (e.g. xdh, ltk, pnp4a, and mpv17) were modified by thyroid hormone treatment. Our results enhanced the understanding of the role of thyroid hormone in fish pigmentation and provide useful information for cultivating fish with desirable body colors in aquaculture.

    Keywords: Body color, Chromophores, cyprinidae fish, Pigmentation, Thyroid hormone

    Received: 18 Aug 2024; Accepted: 02 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Liu, Siya, Feng, Cheng, Teng, Wei, Wu, Yuan and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Dengyue Yuan, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
    Zhijian Wang, Southwest University, Chongqing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.