Modulation of avian iridescence via melanogenesis

The iridescent colors of birds originate in nanoscale feather structures that interact with light. Although the physical principles governing avian iridescence are well established, the molecular mechanisms assembling these nanostructures into photonic materials remain unknown. Here, we integrated genomic, cellular, and optical approaches to investigate the molecular basis of iridescent color formation in birds. We leveraged mutations that arose in the domesticated Indian peafowl and natural color variation in wild birds. In peafowl, we identified eight genes underlying gains, losses, and shifts of iridescence, whereas in two wild species, we used single-cell transcriptomics to profile asymmetric feathers in which iridescent and noniridescent barbules develop on opposite sides of the same feather. We found that all peafowl mutations mapped to melanogenesis genes, showing that variation in this pathway can modify diverse geometric features of feather photonic nanostructures. Mutations altering melanin composition collapsed multilayered photonic systems and yielded noniridescent tissues, whereas changes in melanosome abundance, elongation, or deposition timing generated multilayer architectures with variable periodicity and color. We further show in peafowl that transitions from noniridescent to iridescent plumage were associated with single-nucleotide mutations in a melanogenesis gene, suggesting that, in species already capable of forming multilayered nanostructures, iridescence can be gained by relatively small genetic changes. Single-cell transcriptomes from wild species also supported extensive melanocyte-centered regulatory rewiring associated with iridescence, including changes in melanosome maturation, trafficking, and intercellular signaling. Together, these results show that the nanoscale order underlying iridescence is developmentally plastic and highly responsive to the melanogenic environment.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Published
2026-10-16
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2614444123
Primary Topic
melanin and skin pigmentation
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Modulation of avian iridescence via melanogenesis

Csaba Fekete, Carina Bittner, Kazumasa Wakamatsu, Andrea Hilpert et al.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
melanin and skin pigmentation
article

Modulation of avian iridescence via melanogenesis

Csaba Fekete, Carina Bittner, Kazumasa Wakamatsu, Andrea Hilpert, Tyler Alioto, Ricardo Jorge Lopes, Muhammad Akhtar Ali, Miguel Carneiro, Roberto Arbore, Pedro Miguel Araújo, Joel M. Alves, Sandra Afonso, Benjamin Apeleo Zubiri, Jindřich Brejcha, Leif Andersson, Joseph C. Corbo, Erdmann Spiecker, Michaël P. J. Nicolaï, Shosuke Ito, Fernando Cruz, Paulo Pereira, Rita O. Afonso, Cristiana I. Marques, Soraia Barbosa, Jèssica Gómez‐Garrido, Nicolas Vogel, Joao Carita, Anita Hech, Marta Gut, Pedro Andrade, M. Francisca Amorim, Cristina Zamarreño
article en

Abstract

The iridescent colors of birds originate in nanoscale feather structures that interact with light. Although the physical principles governing avian iridescence are well established, the molecular mechanisms assembling these nanostructures into photonic materials remain unknown. Here, we integrated genomic, cellular, and optical approaches to investigate the molecular basis of iridescent color formation in birds. We leveraged mutations that arose in the domesticated Indian peafowl and natural color variation in wild birds. In peafowl, we identified eight genes underlying gains, losses, and shifts of iridescence, whereas in two wild species, we used single-cell transcriptomics to profile asymmetric feathers in which iridescent and noniridescent barbules develop on opposite sides of the same feather. We found that all peafowl mutations mapped to melanogenesis genes, showing that variation in this pathway can modify diverse geometric features of feather photonic nanostructures. Mutations altering melanin composition collapsed multilayered photonic systems and yielded noniridescent tissues, whereas changes in melanosome abundance, elongation, or deposition timing generated multilayer architectures with variable periodicity and color. We further show in peafowl that transitions from noniridescent to iridescent plumage were associated with single-nucleotide mutations in a melanogenesis gene, suggesting that, in species already capable of forming multilayered nanostructures, iridescence can be gained by relatively small genetic changes. Single-cell transcriptomes from wild species also supported extensive melanocyte-centered regulatory rewiring associated with iridescence, including changes in melanosome maturation, trafficking, and intercellular signaling. Together, these results show that the nanoscale order underlying iridescence is developmentally plastic and highly responsive to the melanogenic environment.

Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesVol. 123(42)
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ES), Uppsala University (SE), Fujita Health University (JP), University of the Punjab (PK), Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (DE), Universidade do Porto (PT), Washington University in St. Louis (US), Charles University (CZ), University of Oxford (GB), Sustainability Institute (ZA), HUN-REN Institute of Experimental Medicine (HU), Centro Nacional de Análisis Genómico (ES), Austrian Centre for Electron Microscopy and Nanoanalysis (AT), Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos (PT), Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier (PT), Universitat de Barcelona (ES), Universidade Nova de Lisboa (PT), Texas A&M University (US)
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Knut och Alice Wallenbergs Stiftelse, Vetenskapsrådet, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, HORIZON EUROPE European Research Council, Centro Nacional de Análisis Genómico
Openalex Percentile: Top 17%
melanin and skin pigmentation
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.