Origin of adult‐type pigment cells forming the asymmetric pigment pattern, in Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus)

Abstract

The flatfish-specific asymmetric pigment pattern depends on the asymmetric appearance of adult-type pigment cells after the late metamorphic stages. To understand the mechanism enabling the formation of this asymmetric pattern, we investigated the behavior of pigment cell latent precursors in postembryonic Japanese flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus, by analysis of the expression patterns of pigment lineage markers (colony stimulating factor 1 receptor, dopachrome tautomerase, kit) and the DiI (DiO) labeling test for latent precursors. We found that, throughout the larval stages, pigment cell latent precursors were predominantly localized along the dorsal and ventral margins of the flank symmetrically and migrated continuously from these regions to the lateral sides symmetrically, and after late metamorphic stages these precursors differentiated into adult-type pigment cells on the lateral side asymmetrically. We conclude that adult-type pigment cells that form the asymmetric pigment pattern are continuously derived from the dorsal and ventral margins of the flank during larval development.