Naslov
Ommochrome pigments in surface isopods (Isopoda, Crustacea) and their loss in cave-adapted albino relatives

Autori
Jovović, Lada ; Figon, Florent ; Bilandžija, Helena

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, znanstveni

Izvornik
3rd Dinaric Symposium on Subterranean Biology : Abstract book / Delić, Teo ; Kos, Anja ; Premate, Ester ; Rexhepi, Behare ; Zagmajster, Maja - Trebinje : Organizing Committee, 3rd Dinaric Symposium on Subterranean Biology, 2022, 28-28

Skup
3rd Dinaric Symposium on Subterranean Biology

Mjesto i datum
Trebinje, Bosna i Hercegovina, 09.04.2022. - 10.04.2022

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Recenziran

Ključne riječi
albinism ; ommochromes ; isopods ; pigment extraction ; UPLC-MS

Sažetak
Cave-adapted animals are an excellent model for studying the molecular mechanisms underlying the convergent evolution of various traits such as pigment loss or albinism. Characterizing the nature of biological pigments in phylogenetically closest surface relatives is the first step that must be taken to understand this phenomenon. To date, the only information on the mechanisms of pigment regression in troglobites has been published for melanin pigment, while the mechanisms of ommochrome loss remain largely unknown. Ommochromes are tryptophan derivatives and generally a less studied class of biological pigments found exclusively in protostomes including crustaceans. Our study was focused on surface and cave crustaceans of the order Isopoda. Using a biochemical approach to extract and detect ommochromes in conjunction with liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (UPLC- MS), we identified for the first time and to the best of our knowledge ommochromes in three groups of isopods: Sphaeromatidae (Flabellifera), family Trichoniscidae (Oniscidea), and genus Proasellus (Asellota). Using the same method, we quantified the precursors of ommochrome synthesis in both surface and cave representatives to determine which step of the biosynthetic pathway may be defective in albino cave dwellers. In general, our results show an accumulation of tryptophan in cave dwellers, suggesting that the disruption of ommochrome synthesis is likely at the very beginning of this anabolic cascade. Our data suggest that isopods are a good group to study the precise molecular mechanisms underlying albinism as a consequence of ommochrome deficiency. To address this issue, we will apply RNA-Seq and assemble de novo transcriptomes for several pairs of surface-cave relatives. We plan to compare transcriptomic data for candidate genes to understand expression changes and/or possible inactivating mutations that may be responsible for albinism in different isopod lineages.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Biologija

POVEZANOST RADA