A simple chemical tweak governed by a single enzyme determines the color of a parrot’s plumage, researchers report this week ...

Arbore et al. found that much of the color variation in parrots is controlled by fine-tuning the expression of a single key enzyme, ALDH3A2, which modulates aldehyde metabolism and regulates ...

The key genes change the chemical structure of the pigment molecule through the actions of an enzyme which adds just one atom ...

From the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro to the shoulders of pirates: parrots are synonymous with color for people across the world. In a new study, scientists uncover a 'switch' in the DNA of parrots that ...

Parrots are common pets in millions of homes worldwide, and they are appreciated for their color and intelligence. But for all their flashiness, it was not well understood how these birds evolved ...

"Parrots combine these with other pigments to create vibrant yellows, reds, and greens, making these animals among nature's most colorful," he says. Parrots are common pets in millions of homes ...

They turned them into little biochemical factories that produced the red parrot pigment. They then genetically engineered some of those yeast to make the color-changing enzyme as well. Sure enough ...

Birds like cardinals get their colorful plumage from carotenoids in their diets. But the colors in parrots’ plumage comes from chemicals known as psittacofulvins. Using genetic mapping ...

A combination of chemical and genetic analyses of the parrots revealed that ALDH3A2 is more active in yellow and green feathers than in red ones, suggesting that the enzyme helps feathers color swap.

From the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro to the shoulders of pirates: parrots are synonymous with colour for people across the ...