Characterization of Opsin Gene Alleles Affecting Color Vision in a Wild Population of Titi Monkeys (Callicebus brunneus)

The color vision of most platyrrhine primates is determined by alleles at the polymorphic X-linked locus coding for the opsin responsible for the middle- to long-wavelength (M/L) cone photopigment. Females who are heterozygous at the locus have trichromatic vision, whereas homozygous females and all males are dichromatic. This study characterized the opsin alleles in a wild population of the socially monogamous platyrrhine monkey Callicebus brunneus (the brown titi monkey), a primate that an earlier study suggests may possess an unusual number of alleles at this locus and thus may be a subject of special interest in the study of primate color vision. Direct sequencing of regions of the M/L opsin gene using feces-, blood-, and saliva-derived DNA obtained from 14 individuals yielded evidence for the presence of three functionally distinct alleles, corresponding to the most common M/L photopigment variants inferred from a physiological study of cone spectral sensitivity in captive Callicebus. Am. J. Primatol. 73:189-196, 2011. (C) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Wenner-Gren FoundationsWenner-Gren FoundationLeakey FoundationLeakey FoundationSigma Xi SocietySigma Xi SocietyOrganization for Tropical StudiesOrganization for Tropical StudiesUniversity of CaliforniaUniversity of CaliforniaUC Davis Department of AnthropologyUC Davis Department of AnthropologyCoordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)CAPESResearch to Prevent Blindness[P30EY01931]Research to Prevent BlindnessResearch to Prevent Blindness[NEI EY09303]Research to Prevent BlindnessNIH[R24RR005090]NI