Nudibranch color diversity shares a common physical basis in guanine photonic structure 'pixels'.
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| Title: | Nudibranch color diversity shares a common physical basis in guanine photonic structure 'pixels'. |
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| Authors: | Humphrey, Samuel1,2 sam.humphrey@mpikg.mpg.de, He, Xianglian1, Priemel, Tobias1, Titze, Vera Marie1, Perea-Puente, Sinuhé1, Subramanian, Vivek3, Bouchet-Marquis, Cedric3, Jesus, Bruno4, Vignolini, Silvia1,2 sv@mpikg.mpg.de |
| Source: | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 3/24/2026, Vol. 123 Issue 12, p1-9. 22p. |
| Subjects: | Structural colors, Optical multilayers, Aposematism, Nudibranchia, Animal coloration, Electron microscopy, Optical reflection |
| Abstract: | Nudibranchs are well known for their bright and diverse color patterns. This coloration is typically a form of aposematism, warning predators against toxic compounds sequestered from their prey and weaponized as a form of defense. Although many of the hues in nudibranchs were thought to be of pigmentary origin, here we show, using a combination of white light and Raman microspectroscopy, that hierarchically organized micron-scale guanine multilayer structures are responsible for many of these colors. Such architectures are widespread across the dorid and aeolid groups and are responsible for a striking array of angular-independent structural colors. By using cryogenic focused ion beam (cryo-FIB) SEM tomography, we were able to access the complex 3D organization of the guanine nanoplatelets responsible for the strong blue coloration of Chromodoris annae. We propose that the multilayer organization of guanine platelets with varying orientations across the tissue and their micron-scale size offers a particularly effective strategy for producing diverse optical effects. The macroscopic angular independent color results from individual multilayers which we describe as "pixels", these "pixels" reflect light at a wavelength governed by their interlayer spacing and guanine platelet thickness. The macroscopic hue can be spectrally tuned by altering the statistical distribution of pixels with each color, while the angular dependence of color can be changed through the relative orientation of the multilayer stacks and their size, allowing for a single structural motif to generate a broad palette of optical appearances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America is the property of National Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 192613216 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Nudibranch color diversity shares a common physical basis in guanine photonic structure 'pixels'. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Humphrey%2C+Samuel%22">Humphrey, Samuel</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo><i> sam.humphrey@mpikg.mpg.de</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22He%2C+Xianglian%22">He, Xianglian</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Priemel%2C+Tobias%22">Priemel, Tobias</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Titze%2C+Vera+Marie%22">Titze, Vera Marie</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Perea-Puente%2C+Sinuhé%22">Perea-Puente, Sinuhé</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Subramanian%2C+Vivek%22">Subramanian, Vivek</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Bouchet-Marquis%2C+Cedric%22">Bouchet-Marquis, Cedric</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jesus%2C+Bruno%22">Jesus, Bruno</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Vignolini%2C+Silvia%22">Vignolini, Silvia</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo><i> sv@mpikg.mpg.de</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Proceedings+of+the+National+Academy+of+Sciences+of+the+United+States+of+America%22">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America</searchLink>. 3/24/2026, Vol. 123 Issue 12, p1-9. 22p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Structural+colors%22">Structural colors</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Optical+multilayers%22">Optical multilayers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Aposematism%22">Aposematism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nudibranchia%22">Nudibranchia</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Animal+coloration%22">Animal coloration</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Electron+microscopy%22">Electron microscopy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Optical+reflection%22">Optical reflection</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Nudibranchs are well known for their bright and diverse color patterns. This coloration is typically a form of aposematism, warning predators against toxic compounds sequestered from their prey and weaponized as a form of defense. Although many of the hues in nudibranchs were thought to be of pigmentary origin, here we show, using a combination of white light and Raman microspectroscopy, that hierarchically organized micron-scale guanine multilayer structures are responsible for many of these colors. Such architectures are widespread across the dorid and aeolid groups and are responsible for a striking array of angular-independent structural colors. By using cryogenic focused ion beam (cryo-FIB) SEM tomography, we were able to access the complex 3D organization of the guanine nanoplatelets responsible for the strong blue coloration of Chromodoris annae. We propose that the multilayer organization of guanine platelets with varying orientations across the tissue and their micron-scale size offers a particularly effective strategy for producing diverse optical effects. The macroscopic angular independent color results from individual multilayers which we describe as "pixels", these "pixels" reflect light at a wavelength governed by their interlayer spacing and guanine platelet thickness. The macroscopic hue can be spectrally tuned by altering the statistical distribution of pixels with each color, while the angular dependence of color can be changed through the relative orientation of the multilayer stacks and their size, allowing for a single structural motif to generate a broad palette of optical appearances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America is the property of National Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1073/pnas.2525419123 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 22 StartPage: 1 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Structural colors Type: general – SubjectFull: Optical multilayers Type: general – SubjectFull: Aposematism Type: general – SubjectFull: Nudibranchia Type: general – SubjectFull: Animal coloration Type: general – SubjectFull: Electron microscopy Type: general – SubjectFull: Optical reflection Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Nudibranch color diversity shares a common physical basis in guanine photonic structure 'pixels'. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Humphrey, Samuel – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: He, Xianglian – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Priemel, Tobias – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Titze, Vera Marie – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Perea-Puente, Sinuhé – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Subramanian, Vivek – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Bouchet-Marquis, Cedric – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Jesus, Bruno – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Vignolini, Silvia IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 24 M: 03 Text: 3/24/2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 00278424 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 123 – Type: issue Value: 12 Titles: – TitleFull: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Type: main |
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