Madagascar aye-aye color vision studied

PHOENIX, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists studying one of the world's most rare primates have found the animal's genes involved in color vision haven't degraded as expected.

The study involving the Madagascar aye-aye is part of a quest by Biodesign Institute researcher Brian Verrelli and colleagues at Arizona State University to gain a more complete understanding of color vision evolution.

They have performed the first complete study of color vision in the aye-aye -- a completely nocturnal primate with a unique combination of physical features, including extremely large eyes.

Verrelli, George Perry and Robert Martin analyzed genetic samples of genes involved in vision from eight aye-ayes.

"When examining these genes in the aye-aye, we realized they are not degrading," said Verrelli. "In fact, for the green opsin gene, we did not find a single mutation in it. The opsin genes look to be absolutely fully functional, which is completely counter to how we had believed color vision evolved in nocturnal mammals."

The study is detailed in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution.