Parrots are unique when it comes to color: with their yellow and red feathers, they are among the most colorful animals in the world. Despite their flashy appearance, scientists have long struggled to understand how parrots got their unique color palette.
Unique pigments
How do parrots get their color? To answer this question, scientists first showed that the yellow and red pigments in parrot feathers do not occur in other birds. The scientists themselves found this hard to believe at first, but the genetic tests proved true: the pigments in parrot feathers are unique.
One protein turns red feathers yellow
The scientists then did further research on White-backed Lorikeets, orange-yellow birds native to Papua New Guinea. They discovered that only one protein controls the color difference in White-backed Lorikeets.
Oddly enough, this is the same protein that is responsible for breaking down alcohol in the liver in humans. Parrots "borrow" this detox protein and use it to turn their red feathers yellow. The more active this protein is, the less intense the red color becomes.
Yeast with parrot colors
To prove the protein's effectiveness, the scientists studied an even more well-known parrot: the budgerigar. They showed how budgerigars use the detox protein to switch certain genes on or off, thereby controlling the color of their feathers.
The final confirmation came when the scientists genetically modified yeast with the 'parrot color gene': " It was incredible to see how our modified yeast got parrot colors ". This was the ultimate proof: one gene is enough to explain how parrots regulate the amount of yellow and red in their feathers.
More information
This research was made possible by a collaboration between Ghent University, BIOPOLIS-CIBIO, Charles University in Prague, the University of Coimbra and Washington University in St. Louis.
Read the full article in Science
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Michael Nicolaï
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