Bilin (biochemistry)

Bilin (also called bilichrome) was named as a bile pigment of mammals, but can also be found in lower vertebrates, invertebrates, as well as red algae, green plants and cyanobacteria.

Research suggests that GUN4 regulates chlorophyll synthesis, by activating the enzyme Magnesium chelatase, which catalyzes the insertion of Mg2+ into Protoporphyrin IX.

[4] Butterfly wings are a new site of porphyrin synthesis and cleavage where bilin is portrayed; the expression of the lipocalin bilin-binding protein in Pieris brassicae.

The bilin-binding protein is predominantly present in hemolymph, fat body, and epidermis in the last instar larval and in the wings of the adult insect of Pieris brassicae.

[6] Although it has recently been discovered that three swallowtail butterfly larval color patterns are correlated with the combination of bilin-binding protein and the yellow-related gene, additional physiological activities are still unknown.