Naslov
The role of phenotypic plasticity in cave colonization of the genus Proasellus

Autori
Bedek, Jana ; Lelas, Luka ; 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, 18-18

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
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
cave colonization ; phenotypic plasticity ; Proasellus

Sažetak
Diverse adaptations have evolved in animals living in the peculiar environment of caves. It has already been shown that high plasticity in response to darkness may be an important factor in the evolution of cave-adaptive traits in the Mexican tetra, Astyanax mexicanus (De Filippi, 1853) but it is unknown whether phenotypic plasticity plays a role in cave colonization in general. To address this question, we selected Proasellus coxalis (Dollfus, 1892), a widespread asellid, as a model organism. It is a surface relative of P. anophtalmus (Karaman, 1934), which has several cave-adapted lineages. It also inhabits caves (e.g., P. c. lucifugus Deeleman- Reinhold, 1965) and may form subterranean populations (e.g., P. c. nanus Sket, 1991). We first compared P. coxalis to P. anophtalmus to understand what adaptations evolve during cave colonization in this genus. Next, we randomly divided adults (G0) collected in nature into two cohorts, exposing one group to complete darkness (DD) and the other group to a normal light-dark photoperiod (LD) as a control. We established breeding colonies and obtained the first generation (G1) in both species and second generation (G2) in P. coxalis under both experimental conditions. LD and DD cohorts of P. coxalis differ in both gene expression and phenotype. 3024 genes showed differential expression in the DD and LD groups after four months in the experiment. We also sequenced P. anophthalmus after 4 months under the DD and LD conditions for comparison, and there were only 481 differentially expressed genes. At the phenotypic level, we observed many differences between DD and LD P. coxalis, including body pigmentation, growth rate, fecundity, and survival. Our results indicate that phenotypic plasticity may be an important mechanism leading to adaptation to cave environments in general.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Biologija

POVEZANOST RADA