1
|
Palominos MF, Muhl V, Richards EJ, Miller CT, Martin CH. Jaw size variation is associated with a novel craniofacial function for galanin receptor 2 in an adaptive radiation of pupfishes. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20231686. [PMID: 37876194 PMCID: PMC10598438 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding the genetic basis of novel adaptations in new species is a fundamental question in biology. Here we demonstrate a new role for galr2 in vertebrate craniofacial development using an adaptive radiation of trophic specialist pupfishes endemic to San Salvador Island, Bahamas. We confirmed the loss of a putative Sry transcription factor binding site upstream of galr2 in scale-eating pupfish and found significant spatial differences in galr2 expression among pupfish species in Meckel's cartilage using in situ hybridization chain reaction (HCR). We then experimentally demonstrated a novel role for Galr2 in craniofacial development by exposing embryos to Garl2-inhibiting drugs. Galr2-inhibition reduced Meckel's cartilage length and increased chondrocyte density in both trophic specialists but not in the generalist genetic background. We propose a mechanism for jaw elongation in scale-eaters based on the reduced expression of galr2 due to the loss of a putative Sry binding site. Fewer Galr2 receptors in the scale-eater Meckel's cartilage may result in their enlarged jaw lengths as adults by limiting opportunities for a circulating Galr2 agonist to bind to these receptors during development. Our findings illustrate the growing utility of linking candidate adaptive SNPs in non-model systems with highly divergent phenotypes to novel vertebrate gene functions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- M. Fernanda Palominos
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, 3101 Valley Life Sciences Building, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Vanessa Muhl
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, 3101 Valley Life Sciences Building, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Emilie J. Richards
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Craig T. Miller
- Department of Molecular & Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Christopher H. Martin
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, 3101 Valley Life Sciences Building, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Palominos MF, Muhl V, Richards EJ, Miller CT, Martin CH. Jaw size variation is associated with a novel craniofacial function for galanin receptor 2 in an adaptive radiation of pupfishes. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.06.02.543513. [PMID: 37333213 PMCID: PMC10274624 DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.02.543513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/20/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the genetic basis of novel adaptations in new species is a fundamental question in biology that also provides an opportunity to uncover new genes and regulatory networks with potential clinical relevance. Here we demonstrate a new role for galr2 in vertebrate craniofacial development using an adaptive radiation of trophic specialist pupfishes endemic to San Salvador Island in the Bahamas. We confirmed the loss of a putative Sry transcription factor binding site in the upstream region of galr2 in scale-eating pupfish and found significant spatial differences in galr2 expression among pupfish species in Meckel's cartilage and premaxilla using in situ hybridization chain reaction (HCR). We then experimentally demonstrated a novel function for Galr2 in craniofacial development and jaw elongation by exposing embryos to drugs that inhibit Galr2 activity. Galr2-inhibition reduced Meckel's cartilage length and increased chondrocyte density in both trophic specialists but not in the generalist genetic background. We propose a mechanism for jaw elongation in scale-eaters based on the reduced expression of galr2 due to the loss of a putative Sry binding site. Fewer Galr2 receptors in the scale-eater Meckel's cartilage may result in their enlarged jaw lengths as adults by limiting opportunities for a postulated Galr2 agonist to bind to these receptors during development. Our findings illustrate the growing utility of linking candidate adaptive SNPs in non-model systems with highly divergent phenotypes to novel vertebrate gene functions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- M Fernanda Palominos
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley
| | - Vanessa Muhl
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley
| | - Emilie J Richards
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota
| | - Craig T Miller
- Department of Molecular & Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley
| | - Christopher H Martin
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Lencer E, McCune AR. Differences in Cell Proliferation and Craniofacial Phenotype of Closely Related Species in the Pupfish Genus Cyprinodon. J Hered 2021; 111:237-247. [PMID: 31811714 DOI: 10.1093/jhered/esz074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2019] [Accepted: 12/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the genetic basis for phenotypic differences is fundamental to the study of macroevolutionary patterns of biological diversity. While technological advances in DNA sequencing have made researching genetic variation in wild taxa routine, fully understanding how these variants affect phenotype requires taking the next step to investigate how genetic changes alter cell and tissue interactions that ultimately produce phenotypes. In this article, we investigate a role for cell proliferation as a developmental source of craniofacial diversity in a radiation of 3 species of Cyprinodon from San Salvador Island, Bahamas. Patterns of cell proliferation in the heads of hatching-age fish differ among species of Cyprinodon, and correlate with differences in allometric growth rate among the jaws of 3 distinct species. Regional patterns of cell proliferation in the head are complex, resulting in an unintuitive result in which lower levels of cell proliferation in the posterior head region are associated with the development of relatively larger jaws in one species. We combine these data with previously published morphological and genomic data to show how studying the mechanisms generating phenotype at the cellular and tissue levels of biological organization can help mechanistically link genomic studies with classic morphological studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ezra Lencer
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.,Department of Craniofacial Biology, University of Denver-Anschutz, RC, Aurora, CO
| | - Amy R McCune
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Lofeu L, Anelli V, Straker LC, Kohlsdorf T. Developmental plasticity reveals hidden fish phenotypes and enables morphospace diversification. Evolution 2021; 75:1170-1188. [PMID: 33783852 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2020] [Revised: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The establishment of a given phenotype is only one expression from a range of hidden developmental possibilities. Developmental plasticity at hidden reaction norms might elicit phenotypic diversification under new developmental environments. Current discussion benefits from empirical analyses that integrate multiple environmental stimuli to evaluate how plastic responses may shape phenotypic variation. We raised Megaleporinus macrocephalus fish in different environmental settings to address contributions of developmental plasticity for emergence of new phenotypes and subsequent morphospace diversification. Plastic morphotypes were evaluated at two complementary scales, the M. macrocephalus morphospace and the higher taxonomic level of Anostomidae family. Morphospace analyses demonstrated that developmental plasticity quickly releases distinct head morphotypes that were hidden in the parental monomorphic population. Plastic morphotypes occupied discrete and previously unfilled morphospace regions, a result obtained from comparisons with a control population and in analyses including several Anostomidae species. Plastic responses involved adjustments in shape and relative position of head bonesets, and fish raised under specific environmental combinations rescued phenotypic patterns described for different genera. Therefore, developmental plasticity possibly contributes to adaptive radiation in Anostomidae. Results illustrate how plastic responses enable morphospace diversification and contribute to evolution.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Leandro Lofeu
- Department of Biology - FFCLRP, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, 14040-900, Brazil
| | - Vinicius Anelli
- Department of Biology - FFCLRP, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, 14040-900, Brazil
| | - Lorian Cobra Straker
- Centro Nacional de Biologia Estrutural e Bioimagens, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 21941-902, Brazil
| | - Tiana Kohlsdorf
- Department of Biology - FFCLRP, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, 14040-900, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Martin CH, Gould KJ. Surprising spatiotemporal stability of a multi-peak fitness landscape revealed by independent field experiments measuring hybrid fitness. Evol Lett 2020; 4:530-544. [PMID: 33312688 PMCID: PMC7719547 DOI: 10.1002/evl3.195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2019] [Revised: 07/23/2020] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The effect of the environment on fitness in natural populations is a fundamental question in evolutionary biology. However, experimental manipulations of both environment and phenotype at the same time are rare. Thus, the relative importance of the competitive environment versus intrinsic organismal performance in shaping the location, height, and fluidity of fitness peaks and valleys remains largely unknown. Here, we experimentally tested the effect of competitor frequency on the complex fitness landscape driving adaptive radiation of a generalist and two trophic specialist pupfishes, a scale-eater and molluscivore, endemic to hypersaline lakes on San Salvador Island (SSI), Bahamas. We manipulated phenotypes, by generating 3407 F4/F5 lab-reared hybrids, and competitive environment, by altering the frequency of rare transgressive hybrids between field enclosures in two independent lake populations. We then tracked hybrid survival and growth rates across these four field enclosures for 3-11 months. In contrast to competitive speciation theory, we found no evidence that the frequency of hybrid phenotypes affected their survival. Instead, we observed a strikingly similar fitness landscape to a previous independent field experiment, each supporting multiple fitness peaks for generalist and molluscivore phenotypes and a large fitness valley isolating the divergent scale-eater phenotype. These features of the fitness landscape were stable across manipulated competitive environments, multivariate trait axes, and spatiotemporal heterogeneity. We suggest that absolute performance constraints and divergent gene regulatory networks shape macroevolutionary (interspecific) fitness landscapes in addition to microevolutionary (intraspecific) competitive dynamics. This interplay between organism and environment underlies static and dynamic features of the adaptive landscape.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christopher H. Martin
- Department of Integrative BiologyUniversity of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyCalifornia94720
- Museum of Vertebrate ZoologyUniversity of California, BerkeleyBerkeleyCalifornia94720
| | - Katelyn J. Gould
- Department of BiologyUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel HillNorth Carolina27515
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
McGirr JA, Martin CH. Ecological divergence in sympatry causes gene misexpression in hybrids. Mol Ecol 2020; 29:2707-2721. [PMID: 32557903 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2020] [Revised: 05/21/2020] [Accepted: 06/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Ecological speciation occurs when reproductive isolation evolves as a byproduct of adaptive divergence between populations. Selection favouring gene regulatory divergence between species could result in transgressive levels of gene expression in F1 hybrids that may lower hybrid fitness. We combined 58 resequenced genomes with 124 transcriptomes to identify patterns of hybrid gene misexpression that may be driven by adaptive regulatory divergence within a young radiation of Cyprinodon pupfishes, which consists of a dietary generalist and two trophic specialists-a molluscivore and a scale-eater. We found more differential gene expression between closely related sympatric specialists than between allopatric generalist populations separated by 1,000 km. Intriguingly, 9.6% of genes that were differentially expressed between sympatric species were also misexpressed in F1 hybrids. A subset of these genes were in highly differentiated genomic regions and enriched for functions important for trophic specialization, including head, muscle and brain development. These regions also included genes that showed evidence of hard selective sweeps and were significantly associated with oral jaw length-the most rapidly diversifying skeletal trait in this radiation. Our results indicate that divergent ecological selection in sympatry can contribute to hybrid gene misexpression which may act as a reproductive barrier between nascent species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joseph A McGirr
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
| | - Christopher H Martin
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC.,Department of Integrative Biology and Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Martin CH, McGirr JA, Richards EJ, St. John ME. How to Investigate the Origins of Novelty: Insights Gained from Genetic, Behavioral, and Fitness Perspectives. Integr Org Biol 2019; 1:obz018. [PMID: 33791533 PMCID: PMC7671130 DOI: 10.1093/iob/obz018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Biologists are drawn to the most extraordinary adaptations in the natural world, often referred to as evolutionary novelties, yet rarely do we understand the microevolutionary context underlying the origins of novel traits, behaviors, or ecological niches. Here we discuss insights gained into the origins of novelty from a research program spanning biological levels of organization from genotype to fitness in Caribbean pupfishes. We focus on a case study of the origins of novel trophic specialists on San Salvador Island, Bahamas and place this radiation in the context of other rapid radiations. We highlight questions that can be addressed about the origins of novelty at different biological levels, such as measuring the isolation of novel phenotypes on the fitness landscape, locating the spatial and temporal origins of adaptive variation contributing to novelty, detecting dysfunctional gene regulation due to adaptive divergence, and connecting behaviors with novel traits. Evolutionary novelties are rare, almost by definition, and we conclude that integrative case studies can provide insights into this rarity relative to the dynamics of adaptation to more common ecological niches and repeated parallel speciation, such as the relative isolation of novel phenotypes on fitness landscapes and the transient availability of ecological, genetic, and behavioral opportunities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- C H Martin
- Department of Integrative Biology and Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - J A McGirr
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA
| | - E J Richards
- Department of Integrative Biology and Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - M E St. John
- Department of Integrative Biology and Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
McGirr JA, Martin CH. Hybrid gene misregulation in multiple developing tissues within a recent adaptive radiation of Cyprinodon pupfishes. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0218899. [PMID: 31291291 PMCID: PMC6619667 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2019] [Accepted: 06/11/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetic incompatibilities constitute the final stages of reproductive isolation and speciation, but little is known about incompatibilities that occur within recent adaptive radiations among closely related diverging populations. Crossing divergent species to form hybrids can break up coadapted variation, resulting in genetic incompatibilities within developmental networks shaping divergent adaptive traits. We crossed two closely related sympatric Cyprinodon pupfish species–a dietary generalist and a specialized molluscivore–and measured expression levels in their F1 hybrids to identify regulatory variation underlying the novel craniofacial morphology found in this recent microendemic adaptive radiation. We extracted mRNA from eight day old whole-larvae tissue and from craniofacial tissues dissected from 17–20 day old larvae to compare gene expression between a total of seven F1 hybrids and 24 individuals from parental species populations. We found 3.9% of genes differentially expressed between generalists and molluscivores in whole-larvae tissues and 0.6% of genes differentially expressed in craniofacial tissue. We found that 2.1% of genes were misregulated in whole-larvae hybrids whereas 19.1% of genes were misregulated in hybrid craniofacial tissues, after correcting for sequencing biases. We also measured allele specific expression across 15,429 heterozygous sites to identify putative compensatory regulatory mechanisms underlying differential expression between generalists and molluscivores. Together, our results highlight the importance of considering misregulation as an early indicator of genetic incompatibilities in the context of rapidly diverging adaptive radiations and suggests that compensatory regulatory divergence drives hybrid gene misregulation in developing tissues that give rise to novel craniofacial traits.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Joseph A. McGirr
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Christopher H. Martin
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America
- Department of Integrative Biology and Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, California, United States of America
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Gidmark NJ, Pos K, Matheson B, Ponce E, Westneat MW. Functional Morphology and Biomechanics of Feeding in Fishes. FEEDING IN VERTEBRATES 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-13739-7_9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
|
10
|
Lencer ES, McCune AR. An embryonic staging series up to hatching for Cyprinodon variegatus: An emerging fish model for developmental, evolutionary, and ecological research. J Morphol 2018; 279:1559-1578. [PMID: 30368863 DOI: 10.1002/jmor.20870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2018] [Revised: 06/17/2018] [Accepted: 06/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Using multiple taxa to research development is necessary for making general conclusions about developmental patterns and mechanisms. We present a staging series for Cyprinodon variegatus as a basis for further study of the developmental biology of fishes in the genus Cyprinodon and for comparative work on teleost fishes beyond the standard models. Cyprinodon are small, euryhaline fishes, widely distributed in fresh, brackish, and hypersaline waters of southern and eastern North America. Cyprinodontids are closely related to fundulids, providing a comparative reference point to the embryological model, Fundulus heteroclitus. Ecologists and evolutionary biologists commonly study Cyprinodon, and we have been using Cyprinodon to study skull variation and its genetic basis among closely related species. We divided embryonic development of C. variegatus into 34 morphologically identifiable stages. We reference our staging series to that already defined for a related model species, Oryzias latipes (medaka) that is studied by a large community of researchers. We provide a description of the early chondrogenesis and ossification of skull and caudal fin bones during the latter stages of embryonic development. We show that Cyprinodon are tractable for studying development. Eggs can be obtained easily from breeding pairs and our study provides a staging system to facilitate future developmental studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ezra S Lencer
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
| | - Amy R McCune
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Hernandez LP, Adriaens D, Martin CH, Wainwright PC, Masschaele B, Dierick M. Building trophic specializations that result in substantial niche partitioning within a young adaptive radiation. J Anat 2017; 232:173-185. [PMID: 29161774 DOI: 10.1111/joa.12742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/27/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Dietary partitioning often accompanies the increased morphological diversity seen during adaptive radiations within aquatic systems. While such niche partitioning would be expected in older radiations, it is unclear how significant morphological divergence occurs within a shorter time period. Here we show how differential growth in key elements of the feeding mechanism can bring about pronounced functional differences among closely related species. An incredibly young adaptive radiation of three Cyprinodon species residing within hypersaline lakes in San Salvador Island, Bahamas, has recently been described. Characterized by distinct head shapes, gut content analyses revealed three discrete feeding modes in these species: basal detritivory as well as derived durophagy and lepidophagy (scale-feeding). We dissected, cleared and stained, and micro-CT scanned species to assess functionally relevant differences in craniofacial musculoskeletal elements. The widespread feeding mode previously described for cyprinodontiforms, in which the force of the bite may be secondary to the requisite dexterity needed to pick at food items, is modified within both the scale specialist and the durophagous species. While the scale specialist has greatly emphasized maxillary retraction, using it to overcome the poor mechanical advantage associated with scale-eating, the durophage has instead stabilized the maxilla. In all species the bulk of the adductor musculature is composed of AM A1. However, the combined masses of both adductor mandibulae (AM) A1 and A3 in the scale specialist were five times that of the other species, showing the importance of growth in functional divergence. The scale specialist combines plesiomorphic jaw mechanisms with both a hypertrophied AM A1 and a slightly modified maxillary anatomy (with substantial functional implications) to generate a bite that is both strong and allows a wide range of motion in the upper jaw, two attributes that normally tradeoff mechanically. Thus, a significant feeding innovation (scale-eating, rarely seen in fishes) may evolve based largely on allometric changes in ancestral structures. Alternatively, the durophage shows reduced growth with foreshortened jaws that are stabilized by an immobile maxilla. Overall, scale specialists showed the most divergent morphology, suggesting that selection for scale-biting might be stronger or act on a greater number of traits than selection for either detritivory or durophagy. The scale specialist has colonized an adaptive peak that few lineages have climbed. Thus, heterochronic changes in growth can quickly produce functionally relevant change among closely related species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Luz Patricia Hernandez
- Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Dominique Adriaens
- Evolutionary Morphology of Vertebrates, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Christopher H Martin
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Peter C Wainwright
- Department of Evolution & Ecology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Bert Masschaele
- Department of Subatomic and Radiation Physics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Manuel Dierick
- Department of Subatomic and Radiation Physics, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Lencer ES, Warren WC, Harrison R, McCune AR. The Cyprinodon variegatus genome reveals gene expression changes underlying differences in skull morphology among closely related species. BMC Genomics 2017; 18:424. [PMID: 28558659 PMCID: PMC5450241 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-017-3810-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2017] [Accepted: 05/22/2017] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Understanding the genetic and developmental origins of phenotypic novelty is central to the study of biological diversity. In this study we identify modifications to the expression of genes at four developmental stages that may underlie jaw morphological differences among three closely related species of pupfish (genus Cyprinodon) from San Salvador Island, Bahamas. Pupfishes on San Salvador Island are trophically differentiated and include two endemic species that have evolved jaw morphologies unlike that of any other species in the genus Cyprinodon. RESULTS We find that gene expression differs significantly across recently diverged species of pupfish. Genes such as Bmp4 and calmodulin, previously implicated in jaw diversification in African cichlid fishes and Galapagos finches, were not found to be differentially expressed among species of pupfish. Instead we find multiple growth factors and cytokine/chemokine genes to be differentially expressed among these pupfish taxa. These include both genes and pathways known to affect craniofacial development, such as Wnt signaling, as well as novel genes and pathways not previously implicated in craniofacial development. These data highlight both shared and potentially unique sources of jaw diversity in pupfish and those identified in other evolutionary model systems such as Galapagos finches and African cichlids. CONCLUSIONS We identify modifications to the expression of genes involved in Wnt signaling, Igf signaling, and the inflammation response as promising avenues for future research. Our project provides insight into the magnitude of gene expression changes contributing to the evolution of morphological novelties, such as jaw structure, in recently diverged pupfish species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ezra S Lencer
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA.
| | - Wesley C Warren
- McDonnell Genome Institute, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, 63108, USA
| | - Richard Harrison
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA
| | - Amy R McCune
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 14850, USA
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Martin CH. The cryptic origins of evolutionary novelty: 1000-fold faster trophic diversification rates without increased ecological opportunity or hybrid swarm. Evolution 2016; 70:2504-2519. [PMID: 27593215 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2016] [Revised: 08/10/2016] [Accepted: 08/18/2016] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Ecological opportunity is frequently proposed as the sole ingredient for adaptive radiation into novel niches. An additional trigger may be genome-wide hybridization resulting from "hybrid swarm." However, these hypotheses have been difficult to test due to the rarity of comparable control environments lacking adaptive radiations. Here I exploit such a pattern in microendemic radiations of Caribbean pupfishes. I show that a sympatric three species radiation on San Salvador Island, Bahamas diversified 1445 times faster than neighboring islands in jaw length due to the evolution of a novel scale-eating adaptive zone from a generalist ancestral niche. I then sampled 22 generalist populations on seven neighboring islands and measured morphological diversity, stomach content diversity, dietary isotopic diversity, genetic diversity, lake/island areas, macroalgae richness, and Caribbean-wide patterns of gene flow. None of these standard metrics of ecological opportunity or gene flow were associated with adaptive radiation, except for slight increases in macroalgae richness. Thus, exceptional trophic diversification is highly localized despite myriad generalist populations in comparable environmental and genetic backgrounds. This study provides a strong counterexample to the ecological and hybrid swarm theories of adaptive radiation and suggests that diversification of novel specialists on a sparse fitness landscape is constrained by more than ecological opportunity and gene flow.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Christopher H Martin
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Campus Box 3280, 120 South Road, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599-3280.
| |
Collapse
|