The fundamental unit of rapid, physiological color change in vertebrates is the dermal chromato- phore unit. This unit, comprised of cellular associations between different chromatophore types, is relatively conserved...The fundamental unit of rapid, physiological color change in vertebrates is the dermal chromato- phore unit. This unit, comprised of cellular associations between different chromatophore types, is relatively conserved across the fish, amphibian, and reptilian species capable of physiological color change and numerous attempts have been made to understand the nature of the four major chro- matophore types （melanophores, erythrophores, xanthophores, and iridophores） and their bio- chemical regulation. In this review, we attempt to describe the current state of knowledge regard- ing what classifies a pigment cell as a dynamic chromatophore, the unique characteristics of each chromatophore type, and how different hormones, neurotransmitters, or other signals direct pig- ment reorganization in a variety of vertebrate taxa.展开更多
文摘The fundamental unit of rapid, physiological color change in vertebrates is the dermal chromato- phore unit. This unit, comprised of cellular associations between different chromatophore types, is relatively conserved across the fish, amphibian, and reptilian species capable of physiological color change and numerous attempts have been made to understand the nature of the four major chro- matophore types （melanophores, erythrophores, xanthophores, and iridophores） and their bio- chemical regulation. In this review, we attempt to describe the current state of knowledge regard- ing what classifies a pigment cell as a dynamic chromatophore, the unique characteristics of each chromatophore type, and how different hormones, neurotransmitters, or other signals direct pig- ment reorganization in a variety of vertebrate taxa.
