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Santos ME, Lopes JF, Kratochwil CF. East African cichlid fishes. EvoDevo 2023; 14:1. [PMID: 36604760 PMCID: PMC9814215 DOI: 10.1186/s13227-022-00205-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Cichlid fishes are a very diverse and species-rich family of teleost fishes that inhabit lakes and rivers of India, Africa, and South and Central America. Research has largely focused on East African cichlids of the Rift Lakes Tanganyika, Malawi, and Victoria that constitute the biodiversity hotspots of cichlid fishes. Here, we give an overview of the study system, research questions, and methodologies. Research on cichlid fishes spans many disciplines including ecology, evolution, physiology, genetics, development, and behavioral biology. In this review, we focus on a range of organismal traits, including coloration phenotypes, trophic adaptations, appendages like fins and scales, sensory systems, sex, brains, and behaviors. Moreover, we discuss studies on cichlid phylogenies, plasticity, and general evolutionary patterns, ranging from convergence to speciation rates and the proximate and ultimate mechanisms underlying these processes. From a methodological viewpoint, the last decade has brought great advances in cichlid fish research, particularly through the advent of affordable deep sequencing and advances in genetic manipulations. The ability to integrate across traits and research disciplines, ranging from developmental biology to ecology and evolution, makes cichlid fishes a fascinating research system.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. Emília Santos
- grid.5335.00000000121885934Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - João F. Lopes
- grid.7737.40000 0004 0410 2071Institute of Biotechnology, HiLIFE, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Claudius F. Kratochwil
- grid.7737.40000 0004 0410 2071Institute of Biotechnology, HiLIFE, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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2
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Feller AF, Seehausen O. Genetic architecture of adaptive radiation across two trophic levels. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220377. [PMID: 35506225 PMCID: PMC9065965 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Evolution of trophic diversity is a hallmark of adaptive radiation. Yet, transitions between carnivory and herbivory are rare in young adaptive radiations. Haplochromine cichlid fish of the African Great Lakes are exceptional in this regard. Lake Victoria was colonized by an insectivorous generalist and in less than 20 000 years, several clades of specialized herbivores evolved. Carnivorous versus herbivorous lifestyles in cichlids require many different adaptations in functional morphology, physiology and behaviour. Ecological transitions in either direction thus require many traits to change in a concerted fashion, which could be facilitated if genomic regions underlying these traits were physically linked or pleiotropic. However, linkage/pleiotropy could also constrain evolvability. To investigate components of the genetic architecture of a suite of traits that distinguish invertivores from algae scrapers, we performed quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping using a second-generation hybrid cross. While we found indications of linkage/pleiotropy within trait complexes, QTLs for distinct traits were distributed across several unlinked genomic regions. Thus, a mixture of independently segregating variation and some pleiotropy may underpin the rapid trophic transitions. We argue that the emergence and maintenance of associations between the different genomic regions underpinning co-adapted traits that evolved and persist against some gene flow required reproductive isolation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna F. Feller
- Division of Aquatic Ecology and Evolution, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 6, 3012 Bern, Switzerland,Department of Fish Ecology and Evolution, Centre of Ecology, Evolution and Biogeochemistry (CEEB), Eawag Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Seestrasse 79, 6047 Kastanienbaum, Switzerland
| | - Ole Seehausen
- Division of Aquatic Ecology and Evolution, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 6, 3012 Bern, Switzerland,Department of Fish Ecology and Evolution, Centre of Ecology, Evolution and Biogeochemistry (CEEB), Eawag Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Seestrasse 79, 6047 Kastanienbaum, Switzerland
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Urban S, Gerwin J, Hulsey CD, Meyer A, Kratochwil CF. The repeated evolution of stripe patterns is correlated with body morphology in the adaptive radiations of East African cichlid fishes. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8568. [PMID: 35154652 PMCID: PMC8820146 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2021] [Revised: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 12/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Color patterns are often linked to the behavioral and morphological characteristics of an animal, contributing to the effectiveness of such patterns as antipredatory strategies. Species-rich adaptive radiations, such as the freshwater fish family Cichlidae, provide an exciting opportunity to study trait correlations at a macroevolutionary scale. Cichlids are also well known for their diversity and repeated evolution of color patterns and body morphology. To study the evolutionary dynamics between color patterns and body morphology, we used an extensive dataset of 461 species. A phylogenetic supertree of these species shows that stripe patterns evolved ~70 times independently and were lost again ~30 times. Moreover, stripe patterns show strong signs of correlated evolution with body elongation, suggesting that the stripes' effectiveness as antipredatory strategy might differ depending on the body shape. Using pedigree-based analyses, we show that stripes and body elongation segregate independently, indicating that the two traits are not genetically linked. Their correlation in nature is therefore likely maintained by correlational selection. Lastly, by performing a mate preference assay using a striped CRISPR-Cas9 mutant of a nonstriped species, we show that females do not differentiate between striped CRISPR mutant males and nonstriped wild-type males, suggesting that these patterns might be less important for species recognition and mate choice. In summary, our study suggests that the massive rates of repeated evolution of stripe patterns are shaped by correlational selection with body elongation, but not by sexual selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabine Urban
- Chair in Zoology and Evolutionary BiologyDepartment of BiologyUniversity of KonstanzKonstanzGermany
| | - Jan Gerwin
- Chair in Zoology and Evolutionary BiologyDepartment of BiologyUniversity of KonstanzKonstanzGermany
| | - C. Darrin Hulsey
- Chair in Zoology and Evolutionary BiologyDepartment of BiologyUniversity of KonstanzKonstanzGermany
- Present address:
School of Biology and Environmental ScienceUniversity College DublinBelfieldIreland
| | - Axel Meyer
- Chair in Zoology and Evolutionary BiologyDepartment of BiologyUniversity of KonstanzKonstanzGermany
| | - Claudius F. Kratochwil
- Chair in Zoology and Evolutionary BiologyDepartment of BiologyUniversity of KonstanzKonstanzGermany
- Present address:
Institute of Biotechnology, HiLIFEUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
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Conith AJ, Albertson RC. The cichlid oral and pharyngeal jaws are evolutionarily and genetically coupled. Nat Commun 2021; 12:5477. [PMID: 34531386 PMCID: PMC8445992 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-25755-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2021] [Accepted: 08/30/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Evolutionary constraints may significantly bias phenotypic change, while "breaking" from such constraints can lead to expanded ecological opportunity. Ray-finned fishes have broken functional constraints by developing two jaws (oral-pharyngeal), decoupling prey capture (oral jaw) from processing (pharyngeal jaw). It is hypothesized that the oral and pharyngeal jaws represent independent evolutionary modules and this facilitated diversification in feeding architectures. Here we test this hypothesis in African cichlids. Contrary to our expectation, we find integration between jaws at multiple evolutionary levels. Next, we document integration at the genetic level, and identify a candidate gene, smad7, within a pleiotropic locus for oral and pharyngeal jaw shape that exhibits correlated expression between the two tissues. Collectively, our data show that African cichlid evolutionary success has occurred within the context of a coupled jaw system, an attribute that may be driving adaptive evolution in this iconic group by facilitating rapid shifts between foraging habitats, providing an advantage in a stochastic environment such as the East African Rift-Valley.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J Conith
- Biology Department, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA.
| | - R Craig Albertson
- Biology Department, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA.
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Hulsey CD, Meyer A, Streelman JT. Convergent Evolution of Cichlid Fish Pharyngeal Jaw Dentitions in Mollusk-Crushing Predators: Comparative X-Ray Computed Tomography of Tooth Sizes, Numbers, and Replacement. Integr Comp Biol 2021; 60:656-664. [PMID: 32584994 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icaa089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Dental convergence is a hallmark of cichlid fish adaptive radiations. This type of repeated evolution characterizes both the oral jaws of these fishes as well as their pharyngeal jaws that are modified gill arches used to functionally process prey like hard-shelled mollusks. To test several hypotheses regarding the evolution of cichlid crushing pharyngeal dentitions, we used X-ray computed tomography scans to comparatively examine dental evolution in the pharyngeal jaw of a diversity of New World Heroine cichlid lineages. The substantial variation in erupted tooth sizes and numbers as well as replacement teeth found in these fishes showed several general patterns. Larger toothed species tended to have fewer teeth suggesting a potential role of spatial constraints in cichlid dental divergence. Species with larger numbers of erupted pharyngeal teeth also had larger numbers of replacement teeth. Replacement tooth size is almost exactly predicted (r = 0.99) from the size of erupted teeth across all of the species. Mollusk crushing was, therefore, highly associated with not only larger pharyngeal teeth, but also larger replacement teeth. Whether dental divergence arises as a result of environmental induced plasticity or originates via trophic polymorphism as found in the species Herichthys minckleyi, there appear to be general rules that structure interspecific divergence in cichlid pharyngeal erupted and replacement dentitions.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Darrin Hulsey
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Axel Meyer
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - J Todd Streelman
- School of Biological Sciences, Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
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Gorman CE, Hulsey CD. Non-trophic Functional Ecology of Vertebrate Teeth: A Review. Integr Comp Biol 2021; 60:665-675. [PMID: 32573716 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icaa086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Teeth are critical to the functional ecology of vertebrate trophic abilities, but are also used for a diversity of other non-trophic tasks. Teeth can play a substantial role in how animals move, manipulate their environment, positively interact with conspecifics, antagonistically interact with other organisms, and sense the environment. We review these non-trophic functions in an attempt to place the utility of human and all other vertebrate dentitions in a more diverse framework that emphasizes an expanded view of the functional importance and ecological diversity of teeth. In light of the extensive understanding of the developmental genetics, trophic functions, and evolutionary history of teeth, comparative studies of vertebrate dentitions will continue to provide unique insights into multi-functionality, many-to-one mapping, and the evolution of novel abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Courtney E Gorman
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz 78457, Germany
| | - C Darrin Hulsey
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz 78457, Germany
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Hulsey CD, Cohen KE, Johanson Z, Karagic N, Meyer A, Miller CT, Sadier A, Summers AP, Fraser GJ. Grand Challenges in Comparative Tooth Biology. Integr Comp Biol 2020; 60:563-580. [PMID: 32533826 PMCID: PMC7821850 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icaa038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Teeth are a model system for integrating developmental genomics, functional morphology, and evolution. We are at the cusp of being able to address many open issues in comparative tooth biology and we outline several of these newly tractable and exciting research directions. Like never before, technological advances and methodological approaches are allowing us to investigate the developmental machinery of vertebrates and discover both conserved and excitingly novel mechanisms of diversification. Additionally, studies of the great diversity of soft tissues, replacement teeth, and non-trophic functions of teeth are providing new insights into dental diversity. Finally, we highlight several emerging model groups of organisms that are at the forefront of increasing our appreciation of the mechanisms underlying tooth diversification.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Darrin Hulsey
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, 78464, Germany
| | - Karly E Cohen
- Friday Harbor Laboratories, School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, Department of Biology, University of Washington, WA 98195, USA
| | - Zerina Johanson
- Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5HD, UK
| | - Nidal Karagic
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, 78464, Germany
| | - Axel Meyer
- Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, 78464, Germany
| | - Craig T Miller
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Alexa Sadier
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90032, USA
| | - Adam P Summers
- Friday Harbor Laboratories, School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, Department of Biology, University of Washington, WA 98195, USA
| | - Gareth J Fraser
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
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Abstract
Quantitative trait loci (QTL) are genetic regions that influence phenotypic variation of a complex trait, often through genetic interactions with each other and the environment. These are commonly identified through a statistical genetic analysis known as QTL mapping. Here, I present a step-by-step, practical approach to QTL mapping along with a sample data file. I focus on methods commonly used and discoveries that have been made in fishes, and utilize a multiple QTL mapping (MQM) approach in the free software package R/qtl.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kara E Powder
- Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA.
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Phylogenetic relationships of Cypriniformes and plasticity of pharyngeal teeth in the adaptive radiation of cyprinids. SCIENCE CHINA-LIFE SCIENCES 2019; 62:553-565. [DOI: 10.1007/s11427-019-9480-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2018] [Accepted: 11/01/2018] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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Hulsey CD, Alfaro ME, Zheng J, Meyer A, Holzman R. Pleiotropic jaw morphology links the evolution of mechanical modularity and functional feeding convergence in Lake Malawi cichlids. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20182358. [PMID: 30963830 PMCID: PMC6408893 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.2358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2018] [Accepted: 02/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Complexity in how mechanistic variation translates into ecological novelty could be critical to organismal diversification. For instance, when multiple distinct morphologies can generate the same mechanical or functional phenotype, this could mitigate trade-offs and/or provide alternative ways to meet the same ecological challenge. To investigate how this type of complexity shapes diversity in a classic adaptive radiation, we tested several evolutionary consequences of the anterior jaw four-bar linkage for Lake Malawi cichlid trophic diversification. Using a novel phylogenetic framework, we demonstrated that different mechanical outputs of the same four jaw elements are evolutionarily associated with both jaw protrusion distance and jaw protrusion angle. However, these two functional aspects of jaw protrusion have evolved independently. Additionally, although four-bar morphology showed little evidence for attraction to optima, there was substantial evidence of adaptive peaks for emergent four-bar linkage mechanics and jaw protrusion abilities among Malawi feeding guilds. Finally, we highlighted a clear case of two cichlid species that have -independently evolved to graze algae in less than 2 Myr and have converged on similar jaw protrusion abilities as well as four-bar linkage mechanics, but have evolved these similarities via non-convergent four-bar morphologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- C. Darrin Hulsey
- Department of Biology, Universität Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Michael E. Alfaro
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of California-Los Angeles, 610 Charles E. Young Drive East, Los Angeles, CA 90095-7246, USA
| | - Jimmy Zheng
- Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of California-Los Angeles, 610 Charles E. Young Drive East, Los Angeles, CA 90095-7246, USA
| | - Axel Meyer
- Department of Biology, Universität Konstanz, Universitätsstraße 10, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Roi Holzman
- Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University and the Inter-University Institute for Marine Sciences, PO Box 469, Eilat 88103, Israel
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Hulsey CD, Holzman R, Meyer A. Dissecting a potential spandrel of adaptive radiation: Body depth and pectoral fin ecomorphology coevolve in Lake Malawi cichlid fishes. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:11945-11953. [PMID: 30598789 PMCID: PMC6303698 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2018] [Revised: 09/22/2018] [Accepted: 10/01/2018] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The evolution of body shape reflects both the ecological factors structuring organismal diversity as well as an organism's underlying anatomy. For instance, body depth in fishes is thought to determine their susceptibility to predators, attractiveness to mates, as well as swimming performance. However, the internal anatomy influencing diversification of body depth has not been extensively examined, and changes in body depth could arise as a by-product of functional changes in other anatomical structures. Using an improved phylogenetic hypothesis for a diverse set of Lake Malawi cichlid fishes, we tested the evolutionary association between body depth and the height of the pectoral girdle. To refine the functional importance of the observed substantial correlation, we also tested the coevolution of pectoral girdle height and pectoral fin area. The extensive coevolution of these traits suggests body depth in fishes like the Lake Malawi cichlids could diverge simply as a by-product of being tightly linked to ecomorphological divergence in other functional morphological structures like the pectoral fins.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Roi Holzman
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life scienceTel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel and The Inter‐University Institute for Marine SciencesEilatIsrael
| | - Axel Meyer
- Department of BiologyUniversity of KonstanzKonstanzGermany
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