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Variation and heritability of retinal cone ratios in a free‐ranging population of rhesus macaques

Munds, R; Cooper, E; Janiak, MC; Lam, L; DeCasien, A; Bauman Surratt, S; Montague, M; Martinez, M; Research Unit, C; Kawamura, S; Higham, J; Melin, A

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Authors

R Munds

E Cooper

MC Janiak

L Lam

A DeCasien

S Bauman Surratt

M Montague

M Martinez

C Research Unit

S Kawamura

J Higham

A Melin



Abstract

A defining feature of catarrhine primates is uniform trichromacy—the ability to distinguish red (long; L), green (medium; M), and blue (short; S) wavelengths of light. Although the tuning of photoreceptors is conserved, the ratio of L:M cones in the retina is variable within and between species, with human cone ratios differing from other catarrhines. Yet, the sources and structure of variation in cone ratios are poorly understood, precluding a broader understanding of color vision variability. Here, we report a large‐scale study of a pedigreed population of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). We collected foveal RNA and analyzed opsin gene expression using cDNA and estimated additive genetic variance of cone ratios. The average L:M ratio and standard error was 1.03:1 ± 0.02. There was no age effect, and genetic contribution to variation was negligible. We found marginal sex effects with females having larger ratios than males. S cone ratios (0.143:1 ± 0.002) had significant genetic variance with a heritability estimate of 43% but did not differ between sexes or age groups. Our results contextualize the derived human condition of L‐cone dominance and provide new information about the heritability of cone ratios and variation in primate color vision.

Citation

Munds, R., Cooper, E., Janiak, M., Lam, L., DeCasien, A., Bauman Surratt, S., …Melin, A. (2022). Variation and heritability of retinal cone ratios in a free‐ranging population of rhesus macaques. Evolution, 76(8), 1776-1789. https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.14552

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date May 12, 2022
Publication Date Jul 19, 2022
Deposit Date Aug 1, 2022
Publicly Available Date Aug 1, 2022
Journal Evolution: International Journal of Organic Evolution
Print ISSN 0014-3820
Publisher Wiley
Volume 76
Issue 8
Pages 1776-1789
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.14552
Publisher URL https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.14552

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