Pigment s

A pigment is a material that changes the color of reflected or transmitted

light as the result of wavelength-selective absorption. This physical
process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of
luminescence, in which a material emits light. ... Pigments that are not
permanent are called fugitive

Pigment, any of a group of compounds that are intensely

colored and are used to colour other materials
Biological pigments, also known simply as pigments or biochromes are
substances produced by living organisms that have a color resulting from
selective color absorption. Biological pigments include plant
pigments and flower pigments. Many biological structures, such
as skin, eyes, feathers, fur and hair contain pigments such as melanin in
specialized cells called chromatophores. In some species, pigments accrue over
very long periods during an individual's lifespan.
Pigment color differs from structural color in that it is the same for all viewing
angles, whereas structural color is the result of selective reflection or iridescence,
usually because of multilayer structures. For example, butterfly wings typically
contain structural color, although many butterflies have cells that contain pigment
as well

Pigments in plants

Space-filling model of the chlorophyll molecule.

Anthocyanin gives these pansies their purple pigmentation.

The primary function of pigments in plants is photosynthesis, which uses the

green pigment chlorophyll and several colorful pigments that absorb as much
light energy as possible. Other functions of pigments in plants include attracting
insects to flowers to encourage pollination.
Plant pigments include many molecules, such
as porphyrins, carotenoids, anthocyanins and betalains. All biological pigments
selectively absorb certain wavelengths of light while reflecting others.

The principal pigments responsible are:

 Chlorophyll is the primary pigment in plants; it is a chlorin that absorbs
yellow and blue wavelengths of light while reflecting green. It is the presence
and relative abundance of chlorophyll that gives plants their green color. All
land plants and green algae possess two forms of this pigment:
chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b. Kelps, diatoms, and other
photosynthetic heterokonts contain chlorophyll c instead of b, while red algae
possess only chlorophyll a. All chlorophylls serve as the primary means plants
use to intercept light in order to fuel photosynthesis.
 Carotenoids are red, orange, or yellow tetraterpenoids. During the process of
photosynthesis, they have functions in light-harvesting (as accessory
pigments), in photoprotection (energy dissipation via non-photochemical
quenching as well as singlet oxygen scavenging for prevention of
photooxidative damage), and also serve as protein structural elements. In
higher plants, they also serve as precursors to the plant hormone abscisic
acid.
Plants, in general, contain six ubiquitous
carotenoids: neoxanthin, violaxanthin, antheraxanthin, zeaxanthin, lutein and β-
carotene.[6] Lutein is a yellow pigment found in fruits and vegetables and is the
most abundant carotenoid in plants. Lycopene is the red pigment responsible for
the color of tomatoes. Other less common carotenoids in plants include lutein
epoxide (in many woody species), lactucaxanthin (found in lettuce), and alpha
carotene (found in carrots).[7] In cyanobacteria, many other carotenoids exist such
as canthaxanthin, myxoxanthophyll, synechoxanthin, and echinenone. Algal
phototrophs such as dinoflagellates use peridinin as a light harvesting pigment.
While carotenoids can be found complexed within chlorophyll-binding proteins
such as the photosynthetic reaction centers and light-harvesting complexes, they
also are found within dedicated carotenoid proteins such as the orange
carotenoid protein of cyanobacteria.

 Anthocyanins (literally "flower blue") are water-

soluble flavonoid pigments that appear red to blue, according to pH. They
occur in all tissues of higher plants, providing color in leaves, plant stem,
roots, flowers, and fruits, though not always in sufficient quantities to be
noticeable. Anthocyanins are most visible in the petals of flowers of many
species.[5]

Bougainvillea bracts get their color from betalains

 Betalains are red or yellow pigments. Like anthocyanins they are water-
soluble, but unlike anthocyanins they are synthesized from tyrosine. This
class of pigments is found only in
the Caryophyllales (including cactus and amaranth), and never co-occur in
plants with anthocyanins.[5] Betalains are responsible for the deep red color
of beets.
A particularly noticeable manifestation of pigmentation in plants is seen
with autumn leaf color, a phenomenon that affects the normally green leaves of
many deciduous trees and shrubs whereby they take on, during a few weeks in
the autumn season, various shades of red, yellow, purple,
and brown. Chlorophylls
[8] degrade into colorless tetrapyrroles known
as nonfluorescent chlorophyll catabolites (NCCs).[9] As the predominant
chlorophylls degrade, the hidden pigments of yellow xanthophylls and
orange beta-carotene are revealed. These pigments are present throughout the
year, but the red pigments, the anthocyanins, are synthesized de novo once
roughly half of chlorophyll has been degraded. The amino acids released from
degradation of light harvesting complexes are stored all winter in the tree's roots,
branches, stems, and trunk until next spring when they are recycled to re-leaf the
tree.

Pigments in animals[edit]
Pigmentation is used by many animals for protection, by means
of camouflage, mimicry, or warning coloration. Some animals including fish,
amphibians and cephalopods use pigmented chromatophores to provide
camouflage that varies to match the background.
Pigmentation is used in signalling between animals, such as in courtship and
reproductive behavior. For example, some cephalopods use their
chromatophores to communicate.
The photopigment rhodopsin intercepts light as the first step in the perception of
light.
Skin pigments such as melanin may protect tissues
from sunburn by ultraviolet radiation.
However, some biological pigments in animals, such as heme groups that help to
carry oxygen in the blood, are colored as a result of happenstance. Their color
does not have a protective or signalling function.
Diseases and conditions[edit]
A variety of diseases and abnormal conditions that involve pigmentation are in
humans and animals, either from absence of or loss of pigmentation or pigment
cells, or from the excess production of pigment.

 Albinism is an inherited disorder characterized by total or partial loss

of melanin. Humans and animals that suffer from albinism are called
"albinistic" (the term "albino" is also sometimes used, but may be considered
offensive when applied to people).
 Lamellar ichthyosis, also called "fish scale disease", is an inherited condition
in which one symptom is excess production of melanin. The skin is darker
than normal, and is characterized by darkened, scaly, dry patches.
 Melasma is a condition in which dark brown patches of pigment appear on the
face, influenced by hormonal changes. When it occurs during a pregnancy,
this condition is called the mask of pregnancy.
 ocular pigmentation is an accumulation of pigment in the eye, and may be
caused by latanoprost medication.[10]
 Vitiligo is a condition in which there is a loss of pigment-producing cells
called melanocytes in patches of skin.
Pigments in marine animals[edit]
Carotenoids and carotenoproteins[edit]
Carotenoids are the most common group of pigments found in nature.Over 600
different kinds of carotenoids are found in animals, plants, and microorganisms.
Animals are incapable of making their own carotenoids and thus rely on plants
for these pigments. Carotenoproteins are especially common among marine
animals. These complexes are responsible for the various colors (red, purple,
blue, green, etc.) to these marine invertebrates for mating rituals and
camouflage. There are two main types of carotenoproteins: Type A and Type B.
Type A has carotenoids (chromogen) which are stoichiometrically associated
with a simple protein (glycoprotein). The second type, Type B, has carotenoids
which are associated with a lipo protein and is usually less stable. While Type A
is commonly found in the surface (shells and skins) of marine invertebrates, Type
B is usually in eggs, ovaries, and blood. The colors and characteristic absorption
of these carotenoprotein complexes are based upon the chemical binding of the
chromogen and the protein subunits.
For example, the blue carotenoprotein, linckiacyanin has about 100-200
carotenoid molecules per every complex.[12] In addition, the functions of these
pigment-protein complexes also change their chemical structure as well.
Carotenoproteins that are within the photosynthetic structure are more common,
but complicated. Pigment-protein complexes that are outside of the
photosynthetic system are less common, but have a simpler structure. For
example, there are only two of these blue astaxanthin-proteins in the
jellyfish, Velella velella, contains only about 100 carotenoids per complex.[
A common carotenoid in animals is astaxanthin, which gives off a purple-blue
and green pigment. Astaxanthin’s color is formed by creating complexes with
proteins in a certain order. For example, the crustochrin has approximately 20
astaxanthin molecules bonded with protein. When the complexes interact by
exciton-exciton interaction, it lowers the absorbance maximum, changing the
different color pigments.
In lobsters, there are various types of astaxanthin-protein complexes present.
The first one is crustacyanin (max 632 nm), a slate-blue pigment found in the
lobster’s carapace. The second one is crustochrin (max 409), a yellow pigment
which is found on the outer layer of the carapace. Lastly, the lipoglycoprotein and
ovoverdin forms a bright green pigment that is usually present in the outer layers
of the carapace and the lobster eggs.
Tetrapyrroles
Tetrapyrroles are the next most common group of pigments. They have four
pyrrole rings, each ring consisting of C4H4NH. The main role of the Tetrapyrroles
is their connection in the biological oxidation process. Tetrapyrroles have a major
role in electron transport and act as a replacement for many enzymes. They also
have a role in the pigmentation of the marine organism's tissues.
Melanin
Melanin is a class of compounds that serves as a pigment with different
structures responsible for dark, tan, yellowish / reddish pigments in marine
animals. It is produced as the amino acid tyrosine is converted into melanin,
which is found in the skin, hair, and eyes. Derived from aerobic oxidation of
phenols, they are polymers.
There are several different types of melanins considering that they are an
aggregate of smaller component molecules, such as nitrogen containing
melanins. There are two classes of pigments: black and brown insoluble
eumelanins, which are derived from aerobic oxidation of tyrosine in the presence
of tyrosinase, and the alkali-soluble phaeomelanins which range from a yellow to
red brown color, arising from the deviation of the eumelanin pathway through the
intervention of cysteine and/or glutathione. Eumelanins are usually found in the
skin and eyes. Several different melanins include melanoprotein (dark brown
melanin that is stored in high concentrations in the ink sac of the cuttlefish Sepia
Officianalis), echinoidea (found in sand dollars, and the hearts of sea urchins),
holothuroidea (found in sea cucumbers), and ophiuroidea (found in brittle and
snake stars). These melanins are possibly polymers which arise from the
repeated coupling of simple bi-polyfunctional monomdric intermediates, or of high
molecular weights. The compounds benzothiazole and tetrahydroisoquinoline
ring systems act as UV-absorbing compounds. There are several different types
of melanins considering that they are an aggregate of smaller component
molecules, such as nitrogen containing melanins.

Bioluminescence
The only light source in the deep sea, marine animals give off visible light energy
called bioluminescence a subset of chemiluminescence. This is the chemical
reaction in which chemical energy is converted to light energy. It is estimated that
90% of deep-sea animals produce some sort of bioluminescence. Considering
that a large proportion of the visible light spectrum is absorbed before reaching
the deep sea, most of the emitted light from the sea-animals is blue and green.
However, some species may emit a red and infrared light, and there has even
been a genus that is found to emit yellow bioluminescence. The organ that is
responsible for the emission of bioluminescence is known as photophores. This
type is only present in squid and fish, and is used to illuminate their ventral
surfaces, which disguise their silhouettes from predators. The uses of the
photophores in the sea-animals differ, such as lenses for controlling intensity of
color, and the intensity of the light produced. Squids have both photophores and
chromatophores which controls both of these intensities. Another thing that is
responsible for the emission of bioluminescence, which is evident in the bursts of
light that jellyfish emit, start with a luciferin (a photogen) and ends with the light
emitter (a photagogikon.) Luciferin, luciferase, salt, and oxygen react and
combine to create a single unit called photo-proteins, which can produce light
when reacted with another molecule such as Ca+. Jellyfish use this as a defense
mechanism; when a smaller predator is attempting to devour a jellyfish, it will
flash its lights, which would therefore lure a larger predator and chase the smaller
predator away. It is also used as mating behavior.
In reef-building coral and sea anemones, they fluoresce; light is absorbed at one
wavelength, and re-emitted at another. These pigments may act as natural
sunscreens, aid in photosynthesis, serve as warning coloration, attract mates,
warn rivals, or confuse predators.
Chromatophores
Chromatophores are color pigment changing cells that are directly stimulated by
central motor neurons. They are primarily used for quick environmental
adaptation for camouflaging. The process of changing the color pigment of their
skin relies on a single highly developed chromatophore cell and many muscles,
nerves, glial and sheath cells. Chromatophores contract and contain vesicles that
stores three different liquid pigments. Each color is indicated by the three types
of chromatophore cells: erythrophores, melanophores, and xanthophores. The
first type is the erythrophores, which contains reddish pigments such as
carotenoids and pteridines. The second type is the melanophores, which
contains black and brown pigments such as the melanins. The third type is the
xanthophores which contains yellow pigments in the forms of carotenoids. The
various colors are made by the combination of the different layers of the
chromatophores. These cells are usually located beneath the skin or scale the
animals. There are two categories of colors generated by the cell – biochromes
and schematochromes. Biochromes are colors chemically formed microscopic,
natural pigments. Their chemical composition is created to take in some color of
light and reflect the rest. In contrast, schematochromes (structural colors) are
colors created by light reflections from a colorless surface and refractions by
tissues. Schematochromes act like prisms, refracting and dispersing visible light
to the surroundings, which will eventually reflect a specific combination of colors.
These categories are determined by the movement of pigments within the
chromatophores. The physiological color changes are short-term and fast, found
in fishes, and are a result from an animal’s response to a change in the
environment. In contrast, the morphological color changes are long-term
changes, occurs in different stages of the animal, and are due the change of
numbers of chromatophores. To change the color pigments, transparency, or
opacity, the cells alter in form and size, and stretch or contract their outer
covering.
Photo-protective pigments
Due to damage from UV-A and UV-B, marine animals have evolved to have
compounds that absorb UV light and act as sunscreen. Mycosporine-like amino
acids (MAAs) can absorb UV rays at 310-360 nm. Melanin is another well-known
UV-protector. Carotenoids and photopigments both indirectly act as photo-
protective pigments, as they quench oxygen free-radicals. They also supplement
photosynthetic pigments that absorb light energy in the blue region.
Defensive role of pigments
It's known that animals use their color patterns to warn off predators, however it
has been observed that a sponge pigment mimicked a chemical which involved
the regulation of moulting of an amphipod that was known to prey on sponges.
So whenever that amphipod eats the sponge, the chemical pigments prevents
the moulting, and the amphipod eventually dies.
Environmental influence on color
Coloration in invertebrates varies based on the depth, water temperature, food
source, currents, geographic location, light exposure, and sedimentation. For
example, the amount of carotenoid a certain sea anemone decreases as we go
deeper into the ocean. Thus, the marine life that resides on deeper waters is less
brilliant than the organisms that live in well-lit areas due to the reduction of
pigments. In the colonies of the colonial ascidian-cyanophyte symbiosis
Trididemnum solidum, their colors are different depending on the light regime in
which they live. The colonies that are exposed to full sunlight are heavily
calcified, thicker, and are white. In contrast the colonies that live in shaded areas
have more phycoerythrin (pigment that absorbs green) in comparison to
phycocyanin (pigment that absorbs red), thinner, and are purple. The purple color
in the shaded colonies are mainly due to the phycobilin pigment of the algae,
meaning the variation of exposure in light changes the colors of these colonies.
Adaptive coloration
Aposematism is the warning coloration to signal potential predators to stay away.
In many chromodrorid nudibranchs, they take in distasteful and toxic chemicals
emitted from sponges and store them in their repugnatorial glands (located
around the mantle edge). Predators of nudibranchs have learned to avoid these
certain nudibranchs based on their bright color patterns. Preys also protect
themselves by their toxic compounds ranging from a variety of organic and
inorganic compounds.
Physiological activities
Pigments of marine animals serve several different purposes, other than
defensive roles. Some pigments are known to protect against UV (see photo-
protective pigments.) In the nudibranch Nembrotha Kubaryana, tetrapyrrole
pigment 13 has been found to be a potent antimicrobial agent. Also in this
creature, tamjamines A, B, C, E, and F has shown antimicrobial, antitumor, and
immunosuppressive activities.
Sesquiterpenoids are recognized for their blue and purple colors, but it has also
been reported to exhibit various bioactivities such as antibacterial,
immunoregulating, antimicrobial, and cytotoxic, as well as the inhibitory activity
against cell division in the fertilized sea urchin and ascidian eggs. Several other
pigments have been shown to be cytotoxic. In fact, two new carotenoids that
were isolated from a sponge called Phakellia stelliderma showed mild cytotoxicity
against mouse leukemia cells. Other pigments with medical involvements
include scytonemin, topsentins, and debromohymenialdisine have several lead
compounds in the field of inflammation, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis
respectively. There’s evidence that topsentins are potent mediators of
immunogenic inflation, and topsentin and scytonemin are potent inhibitors of
neurogenic inflammation.

Types of pigments.
There are three basic classes of pigments.

 Chlorophylls are greenish pigments which contain a porphyrin ring. This is a

stable ring-shaped molecule around which electrons are free to migrate. Because
the electrons move freely, the ring has the potential to gain or lose electrons easily,
and thus the potential to provide energized electrons to other molecules. This is the
fundamental process by which chlorophyll "captures" the energy of sunlight.

There are several kinds of chlorophyll, the most important being chlorophyll "a".
This is the molecule which makes photosynthesis possible, by passing its energized
electrons on to molecules which will manufacture sugars. All plants, algae, and
cyanobacteria which photosynthesize contain chlorophyll "a". A second kind of
chlorophyll is chlorophyll "b", which occurs only in "green algae" and in
the plants. A third form of chlorophyll which is common is (not surprisingly)
called chlorophyll "c", and is found only in the photosynthetic members of
the Chromista as well as the dinoflagellates. The differences between the
chlorophylls of these major groups was one of the first clues that they were not as
closely related as previously thought.
 Carotenoids are usually red, orange, or yellow pigments, and include the
familiar compound carotene, which gives carrots their color. These compounds are
composed of two small six-carbon rings connected by a "chain" of carbon atoms.
As a result, they do not dissolve in water, and must be attached to membranes
within the cell. Carotenoids cannot transfer sunlight energy directly to the
photosynthetic pathway, but must pass their absorbed energy to chlorophyll. For
this reason, they are called accessory pigments. One very visible accessory
pigment is fucoxanthin the brown pigment which colors kelps and other brown
algae as well as the diatoms.
Phycobilins are water-soluble
pigments, and are therefore found in
the cytoplasm, or in the stroma of the
chloroplast. They occur only
in Cyanobacteria and Rhodophyta.

The picture at the right shows the two

classes of phycobilins which may be
extracted from these "algae". The vial
on the left contains the bluish
pigment phycocyanin, which gives the
Cyanobacteria their name. The vial on
the right contains the reddish
pigment phycoerythrin, which gives
the red algae their common name.

Phycobilins are not only useful to the organisms which use them for soaking up
light energy; they have also found use as research tools. Both pycocyanin and
phycoerythrin fluoresce at a particular wavelength. That is, when they are exposed
to strong light, they absorb the light energy, and release it by emitting light of a
very narrow range of wavelengths. The light produced by this fluorescence is so
distinctive and reliable, that phycobilins may be used as chemical "tags". The
pigments are chemically bonded to antibodies, which are then put into a solution of
cells. When the solution is sprayed as a stream of fine droplets past a laser and
computer sensor, a machine can identify whether the cells in the droplets have
been "tagged" by the antibodies. This has found extensive use in cancer research,
for "tagging" tumor cells.