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Waffender A, Henshaw JM. Long-term persistence of exaggerated ornaments under Fisherian runaway despite costly mate search. J Evol Biol 2023; 36:45-56. [PMID: 36514848 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2022] [Revised: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 11/14/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Exaggerated ornaments often evolve due to the mating preferences of the opposite sex. Genetic correlations between preferences and ornaments can lead both traits to elaborate dramatically in tandem, in a process known as 'Fisherian runaway'. However, in most previous models of Fisherian runaway, elaborate ornaments are not expected to persist when preferences are consistently costly to the choosing sex. In contrast, we show here that exaggerated male ornaments can be maintained long term even when females must pay a cost to choose their mates. Preferences per se are not costly in our model, but females can only act on their preferences by investing resources in mate search. We predict that mate search effort should decrease with the cost of sampling additional mates and increase with the number of possible ornaments that females can choose from. The potential for multiple exaggerated ornaments to coexist depends on subtleties of their cost structure: strict trade-offs (additive costs) favour sequential ornament evolution, whereas looser trade-offs (multiplicative costs) allow for coexistence. Lastly, we show that pleiotropy affecting both ornaments and preferences makes it difficult for Fisherian runaway to initiate, increasing the evolutionary time until ornamentation. Our model highlights the important but neglected role of mate search effort in sexual selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Waffender
- Institute of Biology I, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
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2
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Peneaux C, Machovsky-Capuska GE, Endler JA, Griffin AS. Eat yourself sexy: how selective macronutrient intake influences the expression of a visual signal in common mynas. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:237821. [PMID: 33758023 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.241349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2020] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Producing colored signals often requires consuming dietary carotenoid pigments. Evidence that food deprivation can reduce coloration, however, raises the question of whether other dietary nutrients contribute to signal coloration, and furthermore, whether individuals can voluntarily select food combinations to achieve optimal coloration. We created a two-way factorial design to manipulate macronutrient and carotenoid access in common mynas (Acridotheres tristis) and measured eye patch coloration as a function of the food combinations individuals selected. Mynas had access to either water or carotenoid-supplemented water and could either eat a standard captive diet or choose freely between three nutritionally defined pellets (protein, lipid or carbohydrate). Mynas supplemented with both carotenoids and macronutrient pellets had higher color scores than control birds. Male coloration tended to respond more to nutritional manipulation than females, with color scores improving in macronutrient- and carotenoid-supplemented individuals compared with controls. All mynas consuming carotenoids had higher levels of plasma carotenoids, but only males showed a significant increase by the end of the experiment. Dietary carotenoids and macronutrient intake consumed in combination tended to increase plasma carotenoid concentrations the most. These results demonstrate for the first time that consuming specific combinations of macronutrients along with carotenoids contributes to optimizing a colorful signal, and point to sex-specific nutritional strategies. Our findings improve our knowledge of how diet choices affect signal expression and, by extension, how nutritionally impoverished diets, such as those consumed by birds in cities, might affect sexual selection processes and, ultimately, population dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chloe Peneaux
- School of Psychology, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
| | - Gabriel E Machovsky-Capuska
- Charles Perkins Centre and Faculty of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2050, Australia
| | - John A Endler
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong Waurn Ponds, VIC 3216, Australia
| | - Andrea S Griffin
- School of Psychology, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia
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3
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Kalinowski CT, Larroquet L, Véron V, Robaina L, Izquierdo MS, Panserat S, Kaushik S, Fontagné-Dicharry S. Influence of Dietary Astaxanthin on the Hepatic Oxidative Stress Response Caused by Episodic Hyperoxia in Rainbow Trout. Antioxidants (Basel) 2019; 8:antiox8120626. [PMID: 31817693 PMCID: PMC6943655 DOI: 10.3390/antiox8120626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2019] [Revised: 11/28/2019] [Accepted: 12/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
A 13-week feeding trial was carried out with juvenile rainbow trout to test two diets: a control diet without astaxanthin (AX) supplementation (CTRL diet), and a diet supplemented with 100 mg/kg of synthetic AX (ASTA diet). During the last week of the feeding trial, fish were exposed to episodic hyperoxia challenge for 8 consecutive hours per day. Episodic hyperoxia induced physiological stress responses characterized by a significant increase in plasma cortisol and hepatic glycogen and a decrease in plasma glucose levels. The decrease of plasma glucose and the increase of hepatic glycogen content due to episodic hyperoxia were emphasized with the ASTA diet. Hyperoxia led to an increase in thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances in the muscle, diminished by dietary AX supplementation in both liver and muscle. Muscle and liver AX were increased and decreased respectively after 7-day episodic hyperoxia, leading to an increase in flesh redness. This augment of muscle AX could not be attributed to AX mobilization, since plasma AX was not affected by hyperoxia. Moreover, hyperoxia decreased most of antioxidant enzyme activities in liver, whereas dietary AX supplementation specifically increased glutathione reductase activity. A higher mRNA level of hepatic glutathione reductase, thioredoxin reductase, and glutamate-cysteine ligase in trout fed the ASTA diet suggests the role of AX in glutathione and thioredoxin recycling and in de novo glutathione synthesis. Indeed, dietary AX supplementation improved the ratio between reduced and oxidized glutathione (GSH/GSSG) in liver. In addition, the ASTA diet up-regulated glucokinase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase mRNA level in the liver, signaling that dietary AX supplementation may also stimulate the oxidative phase of the pentose phosphate pathway that produces NADPH, which provides reducing power that counteracts oxidative stress. The present results provide a broader understanding of the mechanisms by which dietary AX is involved in the reduction of oxidative status.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmen Tatiana Kalinowski
- Grupo de Investigación en Acuicultura (GIA), Research Institute in Sustainable Aquaculture and Marine Conservation (IU-ECOAQUA), Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Crta. Taliarte s/n, 35214 Telde, Spain; (C.T.K.); (L.R.); (M.S.I.); (S.K.)
| | - Laurence Larroquet
- NUMEA, INRA, University Pau & Pays Adour, E2S UPPA, 64310 Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle, France; (L.L.); (V.V.); (S.P.)
| | - Vincent Véron
- NUMEA, INRA, University Pau & Pays Adour, E2S UPPA, 64310 Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle, France; (L.L.); (V.V.); (S.P.)
| | - Lidia Robaina
- Grupo de Investigación en Acuicultura (GIA), Research Institute in Sustainable Aquaculture and Marine Conservation (IU-ECOAQUA), Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Crta. Taliarte s/n, 35214 Telde, Spain; (C.T.K.); (L.R.); (M.S.I.); (S.K.)
| | - María Soledad Izquierdo
- Grupo de Investigación en Acuicultura (GIA), Research Institute in Sustainable Aquaculture and Marine Conservation (IU-ECOAQUA), Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Crta. Taliarte s/n, 35214 Telde, Spain; (C.T.K.); (L.R.); (M.S.I.); (S.K.)
| | - Stéphane Panserat
- NUMEA, INRA, University Pau & Pays Adour, E2S UPPA, 64310 Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle, France; (L.L.); (V.V.); (S.P.)
| | - Sachi Kaushik
- Grupo de Investigación en Acuicultura (GIA), Research Institute in Sustainable Aquaculture and Marine Conservation (IU-ECOAQUA), Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Crta. Taliarte s/n, 35214 Telde, Spain; (C.T.K.); (L.R.); (M.S.I.); (S.K.)
| | - Stéphanie Fontagné-Dicharry
- NUMEA, INRA, University Pau & Pays Adour, E2S UPPA, 64310 Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle, France; (L.L.); (V.V.); (S.P.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +33-559515996
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4
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Vitamin A in the diet of laying hens: enrichment of table eggs to prevent nutritional deficiencies in humans. WORLD POULTRY SCI J 2019. [DOI: 10.1017/s004393391800065x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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5
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Berzins LL, Dawson RD. Does experimentally altered plumage ornamentation of female passerines influence nestling quality? A test in female tree swallows. Ethology 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lisha L. Berzins
- Ecosystem Science and Management Program University of Northern British Columbia Prince George British Columbia Canada
| | - Russell D. Dawson
- Ecosystem Science and Management Program University of Northern British Columbia Prince George British Columbia Canada
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Alonso-Alvarez C, García-de Blas E, Mateo R. Dietary canthaxanthin reduces xanthophyll uptake and red coloration in adult red-legged partridges. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018; 221:jeb.185074. [PMID: 30224370 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.185074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2018] [Accepted: 09/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Carotenoids give color to conspicuous animal signals that are often the product of sexual selection. Knowledge of the mechanisms involved in carotenoid-based signaling is critical to understanding how these traits evolve. However, these mechanisms remain only partially understood. Carotenoids are usually viewed as scarce dietary antioxidants whose allocation to ornaments may trade off against health. This trade-off would ensure its reliability as a signal of individual quality. In the case of red (keto)carotenoids, the literature suggests that some species may show constraints in their uptake. Canthaxanthin is one of the most common ketocarotenoids in red ornaments of animals. It is often commercially used as a dietary supplement to obtain redder birds (e.g. poultry). We increased the dietary canthaxanthin levels in captive red-legged partridges (Alectoris rufa). This species shows red non-feathered parts mostly pigmented by another common ketocarotenoid: astaxanthin. We studied the impact on the uptake of carotenoids and vitamins and, finally, on coloration. We also tested the potential protective effect of canthaxanthin when exposing birds to a free radical generator (diquat). Canthaxanthin did not apparently protect birds from oxidative stress, but interfered with the absorption of yellow carotenoids (lutein and zeaxanthin). Zeaxanthin is a precursor of astaxanthin in enzymatic pathways, and their levels in tissues and eggs were lower in canthaxanthin-supplied birds. This led to lower astaxanthin levels in ornaments and paler coloration. As far as we know, this is the first report of a carotenoid supplementation decreasing animal coloration. The results have implications for understanding carotenoid-based signaling evolution, but also for improving husbandry/experimental procedures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Alonso-Alvarez
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales - CSIC, Dpto Ecología Evolutiva, C/ José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - Esther García-de Blas
- Wildlife Toxicology Group, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC, UCLM, CSIC), Ronda de Toledo sn, 13007 Ciudad Real, Spain
| | - Rafael Mateo
- Wildlife Toxicology Group, Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC, UCLM, CSIC), Ronda de Toledo sn, 13007 Ciudad Real, Spain
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Cantarero A, Carrasco Naranjo J, Casas F, Mougeot F, Viñuela J, Alonso-Alvarez C. The fractal dimension of a conspicuous ornament varies with mating status and shows assortative mating in wild red-legged partridges (Alectoris rufa). THE SCIENCE OF NATURE - NATURWISSENSCHAFTEN 2018; 105:45. [PMID: 29959540 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-018-1565-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2018] [Revised: 04/26/2018] [Accepted: 05/21/2018] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Complex body designs, such as plumage ornaments in birds, can be described by fractal geometry. These complex patterns could have a role as visual signals during courtship and social interactions, but an empirical validation in the wild is currently lacking. Here, we investigated whether the fractal dimension (FD) of a complex plumage pattern displayed by red-legged partridges Alectoris rufa could function as a potential sexual signal. We captured wild birds early in the breeding season and tested if mated and unmated birds differed in the FD of their conspicuous melanin-based black bib. We also tested if the FD of the black bib was correlated within the pair, looking for evidence of assortative mating based on the expression of this trait. We simultaneously assessed similar effects in other ornamental traits (black bib size, white throat patch and black flank band surface, redness of the eye rings and bill). Mated birds showed higher black bib FD values than unmated ones. Mated males, but not females, also displayed a larger black bib. Moreover, the black bib FD (but not the trait size) and the white throat patch surface showed assortative mating. Finally, females with higher black bib FD showed smaller black flank band surface, suggesting a trade-off in the expression of the two melanin-pigmented plumage traits. This provides unique and novel indication for the shape complexity of a pigmented trait, here described by its fractal dimension, to be potentially under sexual selection in a wild animal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Cantarero
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSIC, C/ José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Jesús Carrasco Naranjo
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo 12, 13005, Ciudad Real, Spain
| | - Fabián Casas
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo 12, 13005, Ciudad Real, Spain
- Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (EEZA-CSIC), Carretera de Sacramento s/n. 04120 La Cañada de San Urbano, Almería, Spain
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA
| | - Francois Mougeot
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo 12, 13005, Ciudad Real, Spain
| | - Javier Viñuela
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo 12, 13005, Ciudad Real, Spain
| | - Carlos Alonso-Alvarez
- Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSIC, C/ José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain
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Berzins LL, Shrimpton JM, Dawson RD. Experimentally altering pre-breeding sex steroids reduces extra-pair paternity in female tree swallows. Ethology 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lisha L. Berzins
- Ecosystem Science and Management Program; University of Northern British Columbia; Prince George BC Canada
| | - J. Mark Shrimpton
- Ecosystem Science and Management Program; University of Northern British Columbia; Prince George BC Canada
| | - Russell D. Dawson
- Ecosystem Science and Management Program; University of Northern British Columbia; Prince George BC Canada
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Weaver RJ, Santos ESA, Tucker AM, Wilson AE, Hill GE. Carotenoid metabolism strengthens the link between feather coloration and individual quality. Nat Commun 2018; 9:73. [PMID: 29311592 PMCID: PMC5758789 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-02649-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2017] [Accepted: 12/15/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Thirty years of research has made carotenoid coloration a textbook example of an honest signal of individual quality, but tests of this idea are surprisingly inconsistent. Here, to investigate sources of this heterogeneity, we perform meta-analyses of published studies on the relationship between carotenoid-based feather coloration and measures of individual quality. To create color displays, animals use either carotenoids unchanged from dietary components or carotenoids that they biochemically convert before deposition. We hypothesize that converted carotenoids better reflect individual quality because of the physiological links between cellular function and carotenoid metabolism. We show that feather coloration is an honest signal of some, but not all, measures of quality. Where these relationships exist, we show that converted, but not dietary, carotenoid coloration drives the relationship. Our results have broad implications for understanding the evolutionary role of carotenoid coloration and the physiological mechanisms that maintain signal honesty of animal ornamental traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan J Weaver
- Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, 331 Funchess Hall, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA.
| | - Eduardo S A Santos
- BECO do Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, 05508-090, Brazil
| | - Anna M Tucker
- School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, 3301 SFWS Building, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA
| | - Alan E Wilson
- School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, Auburn University, 203 Swingle Hall, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA
| | - Geoffrey E Hill
- Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, 331 Funchess Hall, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA
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García-de Blas E, Mateo R, Alonso-Alvarez C. Specific carotenoid pigments in the diet and a bit of oxidative stress in the recipe for producing red carotenoid-based signals. PeerJ 2016; 4:e2237. [PMID: 27635308 PMCID: PMC5012267 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.2237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2016] [Accepted: 06/20/2016] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Colorful ornaments have been the focus of sexual selection studies since the work of Darwin. Yellow to red coloration is often produced by carotenoid pigments. Different hypotheses have been formulated to explain the evolution of these traits as signals of individual quality. Many of these hypotheses involve the existence of a signal production cost. The carotenoids necessary for signaling can only be obtained from food. In this line, carotenoid-based signals could reveal an individual’s capacity to find sufficient dietary pigments. However, the ingested carotenoids are often yellow and became transformed by the organism to produce pigments of more intense color (red ketocarotenoids). Biotransformation should involve oxidation reactions, although the exact mechanism is poorly known. We tested the hypothesis that carotenoid biotransformation could be costly because a certain level of oxidative stress is required to correctly perform the conversion. The carotenoid-based signals could thus reveal the efficiency of the owner in successfully managing this challenge. In a bird with ketocarotenoid-based ornaments (the red-legged partridge; Alectoris rufa), the availability of different carotenoids in the diet (i.e. astaxanthin, zeaxanthin and lutein) and oxidative stress were manipulated. The carotenoid composition was analyzed and quantified in the ornaments, blood, liver and fat. A number of oxidative stress biomarkers were also measured in the same tissues. First, we found that color and pigment levels in the ornaments depended on food levels of those carotenoids used as substrates in biotransformation. Second, we found that birds exposed to mild levels of a free radical generator (diquat) developed redder bills and deposited higher amounts of ketocarotenoids (astaxanthin) in ornaments. Moreover, the same diquat-exposed birds also showed a weaker resistance to hemolysis when their erythrocytes were exposed to free radicals, with females also enduring higher oxidative damage in plasma lipids. Thus, higher color production would be linked to higher oxidative stress, supporting the biotransformation hypothesis. The recent discovery of an avian oxygenase enzyme involved in converting yellow to red carotenoids may support our results. Nonetheless, the effect could also depend on the abundance of specific substrate carotenoids in the diet. Birds fed with proportionally higher levels of zeaxanthin showed the reddest ornaments with the highest astaxanthin concentrations. Moreover, these birds tended to show the strongest diquat-mediated effect. Therefore, in the evolution of carotenoid-based sexual signals, a biotransformation cost derived from maintaining a well-adjusted redox machinery could coexist with a cost linked to carotenoid acquisition and allocation (i.e. a resource allocation trade-off).
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Affiliation(s)
- Esther García-de Blas
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC), CSIC-UCLM-JCCM , Ciudad Real , Spain
| | - Rafael Mateo
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC), CSIC-UCLM-JCCM , Ciudad Real , Spain
| | - Carlos Alonso-Alvarez
- Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC), CSIC-UCLM-JCCM, Ciudad Real, Spain; Ecología Evolituva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (MNCN), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Madrid, Spain
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Ge Z, Johnson JD, Cobine PA, McGraw KJ, Garcia R, Hill GE. High Concentrations of Ketocarotenoids in Hepatic Mitochondria ofHaemorhous mexicanus. Physiol Biochem Zool 2015; 88:444-50. [DOI: 10.1086/681992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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