Description
This book comprehensively summarizes the biological mechanisms of coloration and pattern formation of animals at molecular and cellular level, offering up-to-date knowledge derived from remarkable progress in the last 10 years.
The brilliant coloration, conspicuous patterns and spectacular color changes displayed by some vertebrates and invertebrates are generally their strategies of the utmost importance for survival. Consists of mainly three parts, starts with introductory chapter, such as Pigments and Pigment Organelles, Developmental Genetics of Pigment Cell Formation, Adult Pigment Patterns, and Color Changes, this book introduces new pigment compounds in addition to classically known pigments and organelles, explains how the generation of multiple types of pigment cell is genetically controlled, describes the mechanisms underlying the zebrafish stripe formation as well as other animals and also summarizes the mechanism of physiological and morphological color changes of teleost, amphibian and cephalopod.
Written by experts in the field, this book will be essential reading for graduate students and researchers in biological fields who are interested in pigmentation mechanisms of animals.
Table of Contents
Part 1 Pigments and pigment organelles.- 1 Pigments in insects.- 2 Melanins in vertebrates.- 3 Body color expression in birds.- 4 Pigments in teleosts and their biosynthesis.- 5 Bioluminescence and Pigments.- Part 2 Pigment cell and patterned pigmentation.- 6 Development of melanin-bearing pigment cells in birds and mammals.- 7 Pigment cell development in teleosts.- 8 Pigment patterning in teleosts.- 9 Theoretical studies of pigment pattern formation.- 10 Evolution of Pigment Pattern Formation in Teleosts.- 11 Mechanisms of feather structural coloration and pattern formation in birds.- 12 Mechanism of color pattern formation in insects.- Part 3 Color changes.- 13 Physiological and Morphological Color Changes in Teleosts and in Reptiles.- 14 Color change in cephalopods.- 15 Physiological and biochemical mechanisms of insect color change towards understanding molecular links.
