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Powers AK, Hyacinthe C, Riddle MR, Kim YK, Amaismeier A, Thiel K, Martineau B, Ferrante E, Moran RL, McGaugh SE, Boggs TE, Gross JB, Tabin CJ. Genetic mapping of craniofacial traits in the Mexican tetra reveals loci associated with bite differences between cave and surface fish. BMC Ecol Evol 2023; 23:41. [PMID: 37626324 PMCID: PMC10463419 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-023-02149-3] [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: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 08/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/27/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Mexican tetra, Astyanax mexicanus, includes interfertile surface-dwelling and cave-dwelling morphs, enabling powerful studies aimed at uncovering genes involved in the evolution of cave-associated traits. Compared to surface fish, cavefish harbor several extreme traits within their skull, such as a protruding lower jaw, a wider gape, and an increase in tooth number. These features are highly variable between individual cavefish and even across different cavefish populations. RESULTS To investigate these traits, we created a novel feeding behavior assay wherein bite impressions could be obtained. We determined that fish with an underbite leave larger bite impressions with an increase in the number of tooth marks. Capitalizing on the ability to produce hybrids from surface and cavefish crosses, we investigated genes underlying these segregating orofacial traits by performing Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) analysis with F2 hybrids. We discovered significant QTL for bite (underbite vs. overbite) that mapped to a single region of the Astyanax genome. Within this genomic region, multiple genes exhibit coding region mutations, some with known roles in bone development. Further, we determined that there is evidence that this genomic region is under natural selection. CONCLUSIONS This work highlights cavefish as a valuable genetic model for orofacial patterning and will provide insight into the genetic regulators of jaw and tooth development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda K Powers
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Carole Hyacinthe
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Misty R Riddle
- Department of Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia St., Reno, NV, 89557, USA
| | - Young Kwang Kim
- Harvard School of Dental Medicine, 188 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Alleigh Amaismeier
- Department of Biology, Xavier University, 3800 Victory Pkwy., Cincinnati, OH, 45207, USA
| | - Kathryn Thiel
- Department of Biology, Xavier University, 3800 Victory Pkwy., Cincinnati, OH, 45207, USA
| | - Brian Martineau
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Emma Ferrante
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Rachel L Moran
- Department of Biology, Texas A & M University, 100 Butler Hall, College Station, TX, 77843, USA
| | - Suzanne E McGaugh
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, 1500 Gortner Ave., Saint Paul, MN, 55108, USA
| | - Tyler E Boggs
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, 312 College Dr., Cincinnati, OH, 45221, USA
| | - Joshua B Gross
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, 312 College Dr., Cincinnati, OH, 45221, USA
| | - Clifford J Tabin
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
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2
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Wilkens H. Functional eye rudiments in the anchialine crab Munidopsis polymorpha (Crustacea: Galatheidae). Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blac104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
The white crab Munidopsis polymorpha (Crustacea: Galatheidae) is the only one of a species-rich genus not occurring in the deep sea. It is endemic to marine caves, anchialine pools and groundwaters of the volcanic island of Lanzarote (Canary Islands). The eye derives from the superposition type possessing a clear zone formed by the proximal extensions of the rudimentary crystalline cones. The number of ommatidia ranges among the lowest found in decapods and the optic ganglia are strongly diminished in size. The crystalline cones are rudimentary or lost and facets with individual corneas are not discernible. The rhabdoms are tiny and irregularly arranged in the rhabdom layer. Some rhabdoms display an open arrangement of rhabdomers with microvilli that are not aligned to form orthogonal layers. The eye is one of the rare exceptions of traits that despite being rudimentary is still partially functional. The absence of stabilizing selection is probably the reason for variability or reduction of the traits necessary for image formation. In contrast, negative phototactic behaviour is present, because light is still perceived by the eyes of M. polymorpha.
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Affiliation(s)
- Horst Wilkens
- Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change, Zoological Museum Hamburg , Martin-Luther-King-Platz 3, 20146 Hamburg , Germany
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3
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Langille BL, Tierney SM, Bertozzi T, Beasley-Hall PG, Bradford TM, Fagan-Jeffries EP, Hyde J, Leijs R, Richardson M, Saint KM, Stringer DN, Villastrigo A, Humphreys WF, Austin AD, Cooper SJB. Parallel decay of vision genes in subterranean water beetles. Mol Phylogenet Evol 2022; 173:107522. [PMID: 35595008 DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Revised: 04/19/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
In the framework of neutral theory of molecular evolution, genes specific to the development and function of eyes in subterranean animals living in permanent darkness are expected to evolve by relaxed selection, ultimately becoming pseudogenes. However, definitive empirical evidence for the role of neutral processes in the loss of vision over evolutionary time remains controversial. In previous studies, we characterized an assemblage of independently-evolved water beetle (Dytiscidae) species from a subterranean archipelago in Western Australia, where parallel vision and eye loss have occurred. Using a combination of transcriptomics and exon capture, we present evidence of parallel coding sequence decay, resulting from the accumulation of frameshift mutations and premature stop codons, in eight phototransduction genes (arrestins, opsins, ninaC and transient receptor potential channel genes) in 32 subterranean species in contrast to surface species, where these genes have open reading frames. Our results provide strong evidence to support neutral evolutionary processes as a major contributing factor to the loss of phototransduction genes in subterranean animals, with the ultimate fate being the irreversible loss of a light detection system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara L Langille
- Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, Department of Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia.
| | - Simon M Tierney
- Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, Department of Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia; Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia
| | - Terry Bertozzi
- Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, Department of Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia; Evolutionary Biology Unit, South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia
| | - Perry G Beasley-Hall
- Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, Department of Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia
| | - Tessa M Bradford
- Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, Department of Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia; Evolutionary Biology Unit, South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia
| | - Erinn P Fagan-Jeffries
- Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, Department of Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia; Evolutionary Biology Unit, South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia
| | - Josephine Hyde
- Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, Department of Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia; Western Australia Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions, Kensington, WA 6151, Australia
| | - Remko Leijs
- Evolutionary Biology Unit, South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia
| | - Matthew Richardson
- Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, Department of Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia
| | - Kathleen M Saint
- Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, Department of Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia; Evolutionary Biology Unit, South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia
| | - Danielle N Stringer
- Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, Department of Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia; Evolutionary Biology Unit, South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia
| | - Adrián Villastrigo
- Evolutionary Biology Unit, South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia; Institute of Evolutionary Biology, Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta, 37-49, 08003, Spain
| | - William F Humphreys
- Western Australian Museum, Locked Bag 40, Welshpool DC, WA 6986, Australia; School of Animal Biology, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Andrew D Austin
- Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, Department of Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia; Evolutionary Biology Unit, South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia
| | - Steven J B Cooper
- Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, Department of Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia; Evolutionary Biology Unit, South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia
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4
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Flórez JS, Cadena CD, Donascimiento C, Torres M. Repeated colonization of caves leads to phenotypic convergence in catfishes (Siluriformes: Trichomycterus) at a small geographical scale. Zool J Linn Soc 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Across various animal groups, adaptation to the challenging conditions of cave environments has resulted in convergent evolution. We document a Neotropical cavefish system with ample potential to study questions related to convergent adaptation to cave environments at the population level. In the karstic region of the Andes of Santander, Colombia, cave-dwelling catfish in the genus Trichomycterus exhibit variable levels of reduction of eyes and body pigmentation relative to surface congeners. We tested whether cave-dwelling, eye-reduced, depigmented Trichomycterus from separate caves in Santander were the result of a single event of cave colonization and subsequent dispersal, or of multiple colonizations to caves by surface ancestors followed by phenotypic convergence. Using mitochondrial DNA sequences to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships, we found that caves in this region have been colonized independently by two separate clades. Additional events of cave colonization – and possibly recolonization of surface streams – may have occurred in one of the clades, where surface and cave-dwelling populations exhibit shallow differentiation, suggesting recent divergence or divergence with gene flow. We also identify potentially undescribed species and likely problems with the circumscription of named taxa. The system appears promising for studies on a wide range of ecological and evolutionary questions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Carlos Donascimiento
- Colecciones Biológicas, Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Villa de Leyva, Colombia
| | - Mauricio Torres
- Escuela de Biología, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Bucaramanga, Colombia
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5
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Abstract
Abstract
Cave animals and species flocks exhibit common evolutionary principles. In caves, all traits dependent on the information derived from light lose their biological function. Mutations destructive for such traits, but neutral for the organism as a whole, can persist and accumulate until a trait has vanished. Adaptive radiations start in ecosystems containing open niches. Here, selection on niche-specific traits, such as the viscerocranium in fish, is relaxed owing to the absence of competing species, and viscerocranial variability arises. It is transitorily high in recent and phylogenetically younger flocks, providing new phenotypes. It lessens and is completely lost after directional selection promotes the fixation of phenotypes that are best adapted. In cave animals and species flocks, single traits manifest phenotypic variability owing to relaxed selection. Like the eye in cave species, the viscerocranium can be classified a module, the development of which is encoded in gene regulatory networks. Mutations in these genes can result in new phenotypes. Regarding functionality, these mutations might be destructive and eliminated by selection, neutral and thus persisting, or beneficial and promoted to fixation by directional selection. Given the ancient heritage of teleostean fish, these gene regulatory networks might be prone to mutations at the same loci or to developmental reactions resulting in similar phenotypes in closely related or taxonomically and geographically distant species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Horst Wilkens
- Leibniz Institute for the Analysis of Biodiversity Change, Zoological Museum Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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6
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Kess T, Dempson JB, Lehnert SJ, Layton KKS, Einfeldt A, Bentzen P, Salisbury SJ, Messmer AM, Duffy S, Ruzzante DE, Nugent CM, Ferguson MM, Leong JS, Koop BF, O'Connell MF, Bradbury IR. Genomic basis of deep-water adaptation in Arctic Charr (Salvelinus alpinus) morphs. Mol Ecol 2021; 30:4415-4432. [PMID: 34152667 DOI: 10.1111/mec.16033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2020] [Revised: 05/28/2021] [Accepted: 06/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The post-glacial colonization of Gander Lake in Newfoundland, Canada, by Arctic Charr (Salvelinus alpinus) provides the opportunity to study the genomic basis of adaptation to extreme deep-water environments. Colonization of deep-water (>50 m) habitats often requires extensive adaptation to cope with novel environmental challenges from high hydrostatic pressure, low temperature, and low light, but the genomic mechanisms underlying evolution in these environments are rarely known. Here, we compare genomic divergence between a deep-water morph adapted to depths of up to 288 m and a larger, piscivorous pelagic morph occupying shallower depths. Using both a SNP array and resequencing of whole nuclear and mitochondrial genomes, we find clear genetic divergence (FST = 0.11-0.15) between deep and shallow water morphs, despite an absence of morph divergence across the mitochondrial genome. Outlier analyses identified many diverged genomic regions containing genes enriched for processes such as gene expression and DNA repair, cardiac function, and membrane transport. Detection of putative copy number variants (CNVs) uncovered 385 genes with CNVs distinct to piscivorous morphs, and 275 genes with CNVs distinct to deep-water morphs, enriched for processes associated with synapse assembly. Demographic analyses identified evidence for recent and local morph divergence, and ongoing reductions in diversity consistent with postglacial colonization. Together, these results show that Arctic Charr morph divergence has occurred through genome-wide differentiation and elevated divergence of genes underlying multiple cellular and physiological processes, providing insight into the genomic basis of adaptation in a deep-water habitat following postglacial recolonization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tony Kess
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre, St. John's, NL, Canada
| | - J Brian Dempson
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre, St. John's, NL, Canada
| | - Sarah J Lehnert
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre, St. John's, NL, Canada
| | - Kara K S Layton
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
| | - Anthony Einfeldt
- Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | - Paul Bentzen
- Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada
| | | | - Amber M Messmer
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre, St. John's, NL, Canada
| | - Steven Duffy
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre, St. John's, NL, Canada
| | | | - Cameron M Nugent
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Moira M Ferguson
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada
| | - Jong S Leong
- Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada
| | - Ben F Koop
- Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada
| | - Michael F O'Connell
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre, St. John's, NL, Canada
| | - Ian R Bradbury
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre, St. John's, NL, Canada
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7
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Langille BL, Hyde J, Saint KM, Bradford TM, Stringer DN, Tierney SM, Humphreys WF, Austin AD, Cooper SJB. Evidence for speciation underground in diving beetles (Dytiscidae) from a subterranean archipelago. Evolution 2020; 75:166-175. [PMID: 33219700 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2020] [Revised: 11/02/2020] [Accepted: 11/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Most subterranean animals are assumed to have evolved from surface ancestors following colonization of a cave system; however, very few studies have raised the possibility of "subterranean speciation" in underground habitats (i.e., obligate cave-dwelling organisms [troglobionts] descended from troglobiotic ancestors). Numerous endemic subterranean diving beetle species from spatially discrete calcrete aquifers in Western Australia (stygobionts) have evolved independently from surface ancestors; however, several cases of sympatric sister species raise the possibility of subterranean speciation. We tested this hypothesis using vision (phototransduction) genes that are evolving under neutral processes in subterranean species and purifying selection in surface species. Using sequence data from 32 subterranean and five surface species in the genus Paroster (Dytiscidae), we identified deleterious mutations in long wavelength opsin (lwop), arrestin 1 (arr1), and arrestin 2 (arr2) shared by a sympatric sister-species triplet, arr1 shared by a sympatric sister-species pair, and lwop and arr2 shared among closely related species in adjacent calcrete aquifers. In all cases, a common ancestor possessed the function-altering mutations, implying they were already adapted to aphotic environments. Our study represents one of the first confirmed cases of subterranean speciation in cave insects. The assessment of genes undergoing pseudogenization provides a novel way of testing modes of speciation and the history of diversification in blind cave animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara L Langille
- Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, 5005, Australia
| | - Josephine Hyde
- Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, 5005, Australia.,Department of Environmental Sciences, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, Connecticut, 06511
| | - Kathleen M Saint
- Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, 5005, Australia
| | - Tessa M Bradford
- Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, 5005, Australia.,Evolutionary Biology Unit, South Australian Museum, Adelaide, South Australia, 5000, Australia
| | - Danielle N Stringer
- Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, 5005, Australia
| | - Simon M Tierney
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, 2751, Australia
| | - William F Humphreys
- Collections and Research, Western Australian Museum, 49 Kew Street, Welshpool, Western Australia, 6106, Australia.,School of Animal Biology, University of Western Australia, Nedlands, Western Australia, 6009, Australia
| | - Andrew D Austin
- Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, 5005, Australia.,Evolutionary Biology Unit, South Australian Museum, Adelaide, South Australia, 5000, Australia
| | - Steven J B Cooper
- Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, 5005, Australia.,Evolutionary Biology Unit, South Australian Museum, Adelaide, South Australia, 5000, Australia
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8
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Mammola S, Amorim IR, Bichuette ME, Borges PAV, Cheeptham N, Cooper SJB, Culver DC, Deharveng L, Eme D, Ferreira RL, Fišer C, Fišer Ž, Fong DW, Griebler C, Jeffery WR, Jugovic J, Kowalko JE, Lilley TM, Malard F, Manenti R, Martínez A, Meierhofer MB, Niemiller ML, Northup DE, Pellegrini TG, Pipan T, Protas M, Reboleira ASPS, Venarsky MP, Wynne JJ, Zagmajster M, Cardoso P. Fundamental research questions in subterranean biology. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2020; 95:1855-1872. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2020] [Revised: 07/31/2020] [Accepted: 07/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Mammola
- Laboratory for Integrative Biodiversity Research (LIBRe), Finnish Museum of Natural History (LUOMUS) University of Helsinki Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 13 Helsinki 00100 Finland
- Molecular Ecology Group (MEG) Water Research Institute (IRSA), National Research Council (CNR) Corso Tonolli, 50 Pallanza 28922 Italy
| | - Isabel R. Amorim
- cE3c – Centre for Ecology Evolution and Environmental Changes/Azorean Biodiversity Group and Universidade dos Açores, Faculty of Agrarian and Environmental Sciences, Rua Capitão João d'Àvila Pico da Urze Angra do Heroísmo Azores 9700‐042 Portugal
| | - Maria E. Bichuette
- Laboratory of Subterranean Studies Federal University of São Carlos Rodovia Washington Luís km 235 São Carlos São Paulo 13565‐905 Brazil
| | - Paulo A. V. Borges
- cE3c – Centre for Ecology Evolution and Environmental Changes/Azorean Biodiversity Group and Universidade dos Açores, Faculty of Agrarian and Environmental Sciences, Rua Capitão João d'Àvila Pico da Urze Angra do Heroísmo Azores 9700‐042 Portugal
| | - Naowarat Cheeptham
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science Thompson Rivers University 805 TRU Way Kamloops British Columbia Canada
| | - Steven J. B. Cooper
- Evolutionary Biology Unit South Australian Museum North Terrace Adelaide South Australia 5000 Australia
- Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity, and Environment Institute, School of Biological Sciences University of Adelaide Adelaide South Australia 5005 Australia
| | - David C. Culver
- Department of Environmental Science American University 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. Washington DC 20016 U.S.A
| | - Louis Deharveng
- UMR7205 – ISYEB Museum national d'Histoire naturelle 45 rue Buffon (CP50) Paris 75005 France
| | - David Eme
- IFREMER Centre Atlantique Unité Ecologie et Modèles pour l'Halieutique Rue de l'Île d'Yeu Nantes 44980 France
| | - Rodrigo Lopes Ferreira
- Center of Studies in Subterranean Biology, Biology Department Federal University of Lavras Campus Universitário Lavras Minas Gerais CEP 37202‐553 Brazil
| | - Cene Fišer
- SubBio Lab, Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty University of Ljubljana Jamnikarjeva 101, PO BOX 2995 Ljubljana SI‐1000 Slovenia
| | - Žiga Fišer
- SubBio Lab, Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty University of Ljubljana Jamnikarjeva 101, PO BOX 2995 Ljubljana SI‐1000 Slovenia
| | - Daniel W. Fong
- Department of Biology American University 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. Washington DC 20016 U.S.A
| | - Christian Griebler
- Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, Division of Limnology University of Vienna Althanstrasse 14 Vienna 1090 Austria
| | - William R. Jeffery
- Department of Biology University of Maryland College Park MD 20742 U.S.A
| | - Jure Jugovic
- Department of Biodiversity, Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies University of Primorska Glagoljaška 8 Koper SI‐6000 Slovenia
| | - Johanna E. Kowalko
- Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College Florida Atlantic University 5353 Parkside Dr Jupiter FL 33458 U.S.A
| | - Thomas M. Lilley
- BatLab Finland, Finnish Museum of Natural History University of Helsinki Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 13 Helsinki 00100 Finland
| | - Florian Malard
- UMR5023 Ecologie des Hydrosystèmes Naturels et Anthropisés Univ. Lyon 1, ENTPE, CNRS, Université de Lyon, Bat. Forel 6 rue Raphaël Dubois Villeurbanne cedex 69622 France
| | - Raoul Manenti
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy Università degli Studi di Milano Via Celoria 26 Milan 20113 Italy
| | - Alejandro Martínez
- Molecular Ecology Group (MEG) Water Research Institute (IRSA), National Research Council (CNR) Corso Tonolli, 50 Pallanza 28922 Italy
| | - Melissa B. Meierhofer
- BatLab Finland, Finnish Museum of Natural History University of Helsinki Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 13 Helsinki 00100 Finland
- Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management Texas A&M University 534 John Kimbrough Blvd. College Station TX 77843 U.S.A
| | - Matthew L. Niemiller
- Department of Biological Sciences The University of Alabama in Huntsville 301 Sparkman Drive NW Huntsville AL 35899 U.S.A
| | - Diana E. Northup
- Department of Biology University of New Mexico Albuquerque NM 87131‐0001 U.S.A
| | - Thais G. Pellegrini
- Center of Studies in Subterranean Biology, Biology Department Federal University of Lavras Campus Universitário Lavras Minas Gerais CEP 37202‐553 Brazil
| | - Tanja Pipan
- ZRC SAZU Karst Research Institute Novi trg 2 Ljubljana SI‐1000 Slovenia
- UNESCO Chair on Karst Education University of Nova Gorica Vipavska cesta Nova Gorica 5000 Slovenia
| | - Meredith Protas
- Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Domenicas University of California 50 Acacia Avenue San Rafael CA 94901 U.S.A
| | - Ana Sofia P. S. Reboleira
- Natural History Museum of Denmark University of Copenhagen Universitetsparken 15 Copenhagen 2100 Denmark
| | - Michael P. Venarsky
- Australian Rivers Institute Griffith University 170 Kessels Road Nathan Queensland 4111 Australia
| | - J. Judson Wynne
- Department of Biological Sciences, Center for Adaptable Western Landscapes Northern Arizona University Box 5640 Flagstaff AZ 86011 U.S.A
| | - Maja Zagmajster
- SubBio Lab, Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty University of Ljubljana Jamnikarjeva 101, PO BOX 2995 Ljubljana SI‐1000 Slovenia
| | - Pedro Cardoso
- Laboratory for Integrative Biodiversity Research (LIBRe), Finnish Museum of Natural History (LUOMUS) University of Helsinki Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 13 Helsinki 00100 Finland
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9
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Abstract
The small teleost fish Astyanax mexicanus has emerged as an outstanding model for studying many biological topics in the context of evolution. A major attribute is conspecific surface dwelling (surface fish) and blind cave dwelling (cavefish) morphs that can be raised in the laboratory and spawn large numbers of transparent and synchronously developing embryos. More than 30 cavefish populations have been discovered, mostly in northeastern Mexico, and some are thought to have evolved independently from surface fish ancestors, providing excellent models of parallel and convergent evolution. Cavefish have evolved eye and pigmentation regression, as well as modifications in brain morphology, behaviors, heart regenerative capacity, metabolic processes, and craniofacial organization. Thus, the Astyanax model provides researchers with natural "mutants" to study life in the challenging cave environment. The application of powerful genetic approaches based on hybridization between the two morphs and between the different cavefish populations are key advantages for deciphering the developmental and genetic mechanisms regulating trait evolution. QTL analysis has revealed the genetic architectures of gained and lost traits. In addition, some cavefish traits resemble human diseases, offering novel models for biomedical research. Astyanax research is supported by genome assemblies, transcriptomes, tissue and organ transplantation, gene manipulation and editing, and stable transgenesis, and benefits from a welcoming and interactive research community that conducts integrated community projects and sponsors the International Astyanax Meeting (AIM).
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Affiliation(s)
- William R. Jeffery
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 USA
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