Chromosomal mapping of repetitive DNA and retroelement sequences and its implications for the chromosomal evolution process in Ctenoluciidae (Characiformes)

Ctenoluciidae is a Neotropical freshwater fish family composed of two genera, Ctenolucius (C. beani and C. hujeta) and Boulengerella (B. cuvieri, B. lateristriga, B. lucius, B. maculata, and B. xyrekes), which present diploid number conservation of 36 chromosomes and a strong association of telomeric sequences with ribosomal DNAs. In the present study, we performed chromosomal mapping of microsatellites and transposable elements (TEs) in Boulengerella species and Ctenolucius hujeta. We aim to understand how those sequences are distributed in these organisms' genomes and their influence on the chromosomal evolution of the group. Our results indicate that repetitive sequences may had an active role in the karyotypic diversification of this family, especially in the formation of chromosomal hotspots that are traceable in the diversification processes of Ctenoluciidae karyotypes. We demonstrate that (GATA)n sequences also accumulate in the secondary constriction formed by the 18 S rDNA site, which shows consistent size heteromorphism between males and females in all Boulengerella species, suggesting an initial process of sex chromosome differentiation.

Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Vertebrate Adaptive Evolution: A Systematic Review

Adaptive evolution is a process in which variation that confers an evolutionary advantage in a specific environmental context arises and is propagated through a population. When investigating this process, researchers have mainly focused on describing advantageous phenotypes or putative advantageous genotypes. A recent increase in molecular data accessibility and technological advances has allowed researchers to go beyond description and to make inferences about the mechanisms underlying adaptive evolution. In this systematic review, we discuss articles from 2016 to 2022 that investigated or reviewed the molecular mechanisms underlying adaptive evolution in vertebrates in response to environmental variation. Regulatory elements within the genome and regulatory proteins involved in either gene expression or cellular pathways have been shown to play key roles in adaptive evolution in response to most of the discussed environmental factors. Gene losses were suggested to be associated with an adaptive response in some contexts. Future adaptive evolution research could benefit from more investigations focused on noncoding regions of the genome, gene regulation mechanisms, and gene losses potentially yielding advantageous phenotypes. Investigating how novel advantageous genotypes are conserved could also contribute to our knowledge of adaptive evolution.

Physiological mechanisms of stress-induced evolution

Organisms mount the cellular stress response whenever environmental parameters exceed the range that is conducive to maintaining homeostasis. This response is critical for survival in emergency situations because it protects macromolecular integrity and, therefore, cell/organismal function. From an evolutionary perspective, the cellular stress response counteracts severe stress by accelerating adaptation via a process called stress-induced evolution. In this Review, we summarize five key physiological mechanisms of stress-induced evolution. Namely, these are stress-induced changes in: (1) mutation rates, (2) histone post-translational modifications, (3) DNA methylation, (4) chromoanagenesis and (5) transposable element activity. Through each of these mechanisms, organisms rapidly generate heritable phenotypes that may be adaptive, maladaptive or neutral in specific contexts. Regardless of their consequences to individual fitness, these mechanisms produce phenotypic variation at the population level. Because variation fuels natural selection, the physiological mechanisms of stress-induced evolution increase the likelihood that populations can avoid extirpation and instead adapt under the stress of new environmental conditions.

Cryptic Diversity in the Terminal Portion of the Chromosomes of the Dogtooth Characins, Family Cynodontidae (Ostariophysi: Characiformes)

The chromosomes of the dogtooth characins, fish species of the family Cynodontidae, have only a relatively small amount of heterochromatin, including the terminal portion. Curiously, in the cynodontid Cynodon gibbus, the terminal portion is rich in repetitive DNAs, including transposable retroelements and microsatellite sequences. Given this, this study investigated the composition of the terminal portion of the chromosomes of two cynodontid species (Rhaphiodon vulpinus and Hydrolycus armatus), to compile a database for the evaluation of all three cynodontid genera, and in particular, verify the possible tendency for the accumulation of repetitive DNAs in the terminal portion of the chromosomes of C. gibbus, H. armatus, and R. vulpinus. The Rex1, Rex3, and Rex6 transposable retroelements and the (CA)_15, (GA)₁₅, (GATA)₈, (GACA)₈, (CAT)₁₀, and (CAC)₁₀ microsatellite motifs are found primarily in the terminal portion of the chromosomes of the species analyzed in this study, except R. vulpinus, which has no evidence of the presence of Rex1 or Rex3 through the fluorescent in situ hybridization technique. The mapping of the repetitive sequences, principally the microsatellite motifs, indicates a marked tendency for the accumulation of these sequences in the terminal portions of the chromosomes, which may have played a fundamental role in the differentiation of the three species.