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Wang K, Wang J, Liang B, Chang J, Zhu Y, Chen J, Agnarsson I, Li D, Peng Y, Liu J. Eyeless cave-dwelling Leptonetela spiders still rely on light. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadj0348. [PMID: 38117895 PMCID: PMC10732526 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adj0348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/22/2023]
Abstract
Subterranean animals living in perpetual darkness may maintain photoresponse. However, the evolutionary processes behind the conflict between eye loss and maintenance of the photoresponse remain largely unknown. We used Leptonetela spiders to investigate the driving forces behind the maintenance of the photoresponse in cave-dwelling spiders. Our behavioral experiments showed that all eyeless/reduced-eyed cave-dwelling species retained photophobic response and that they had substantially decreased survival at cave entrances due to weak drought resistance. The transcriptomic analysis demonstrated that nearly all phototransduction pathway genes were present and that all tested phototransduction pathway genes were subjected to strong functional constraints in cave-dwelling species. Our results suggest that cave-dwelling eyeless spiders still use light and that light detection likely plays a role in avoiding the cave entrance habitat. This study confirms that some eyeless subterranean animals have retained their photosensitivity due to natural selection and provides a case of mismatch between phenotype and genotype or physiological function in a long-term evolutionary process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Wang
- The State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering of China, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei 430062, China
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Regional Development and Environmental Response, Faculty of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei 430062, China
| | - Jinhui Wang
- The State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering of China, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei 430062, China
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Regional Development and Environmental Response, Faculty of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei 430062, China
| | - Bing Liang
- The State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering of China, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei 430062, China
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Regional Development and Environmental Response, Faculty of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei 430062, China
| | - Jian Chang
- The State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering of China, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei 430062, China
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Regional Development and Environmental Response, Faculty of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei 430062, China
| | - Yang Zhu
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Regional Development and Environmental Response, Faculty of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei 430062, China
| | - Jian Chen
- The State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering of China, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei 430062, China
| | - Ingi Agnarsson
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, Sturlugata 7, 102 Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Daiqin Li
- The State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering of China, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei 430062, China
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117543, Singapore
| | - Yu Peng
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Regional Development and Environmental Response, Faculty of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei 430062, China
| | - Jie Liu
- The State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering of China, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei 430062, China
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Regional Development and Environmental Response, Faculty of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei 430062, China
- School of Nuclear Technology and Chemistry and Biology, Hubei University of Science and Technology, Xianning, Hubei 437100, China
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