Naslov
The role of epigenetics in plasticity and the evolution of cave adaptations in Astyanax mexicanus

Autori
Čupić, Mateo ; Bilandžija, Helena

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

Izvornik
Epigenome inheritance and reprogramming in health and disease: Abstract book / - , 2022, 64-64

Skup
EMBO Workshop: Epigenome inheritance and reprogramming in health and disease

Mjesto i datum
Split, Hrvatska, 22.09.2022. - 26.09.2022

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Poster

Vrsta recenzije
Podatak o recenziji nije dostupan

Ključne riječi
cavefish ; adaptive ; maladaptive ; albinism ; methylation

Sažetak
The teleost species Astyanax mexicanus consists of an ancestral river-dwelling form (surface fish, SF) and a derived cave form (cavefish). The surface fish colonized caves only 30000 years ago and evolved numerous morphological, physiological, and behavioral adaptations that characterize the modern cavefish. We have previously found that many cavefish traits can be triggered by exposure of SF to complete darkness (DD SF), which is a hallmark of all subterranean habitats. Many of these traits are adaptive, such as decreased metabolic rate and increased fat deposition, suggesting that they may have evolved through genetic assimilation of the original plastic response of SF to darkness. Others are not adaptive, such as retinal proliferation and increased melanophores, which were selected against during the evolution of eye degeneration and albinism in cavefish. Genes involved in different levels of molecular organization, including epigenetic ones, were differentially expressed in DD SF compared with controls maintained under 12/12h light/dark conditions (LD SF). DNA methylation is also known to be involved in eye degeneration in cavefish. Therefore, our next step is to investigate the epigenetic mechanisms involved in extensive phenotypic plasticity in SF and their possible role in transgenerational inheritance during the adaptive evolution of cavefish.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Biologija

POVEZANOST RADA