Evolution of acoustic communication in blind cavefish

Hyacinthe, Carole; Attia, J.; Rétaux, Sylvie

doi:10.1038/s41467-019-12078-9

Cited by 36 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Cavefish have developed a series of unique physical and behavioral features in their adaptation to cave habitats, including reduction of eyesight and pigmentation, sensitive sensory organs, unique dietary preferences, and predation behavior (Jeffery, 2009). In recent years, many research related to morphology, molecular biology and ecology has been conducted on various cavefish species such as Astyanax mexicanus (Varatharasan et al, 2009;Hyacinthe et al, 2019) and Phreatichthys andruzzii (Ceinos et al, 2018). However, due to difficulties in adequately sampling wild cavefish species, clear understanding of regulatory mechanisms underlying their adaptive traits requires further investigation (Zagmajster et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Transcriptomics Reveals the Molecular Genetic Basis of Cave Adaptability in Sinocyclocheilus Fish Species

Zhao

Chen

et al. 2020

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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Cavefish evolved a series of distinct survival mechanisms for adaptation to cave habitat. Such mechanisms include loss of eyesight and pigmentation, sensitive sensory organs, unique dietary preferences, and predation behavior. Thus, it is of great interest to understand the mechanisms underlying these adaptability traits of troglobites. The teleost genus Sinocyclocheilus (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae) is endemic to China and has more than 70 species reported (including over 30 cavefish species). High species diversity and diverse phenotypes make the Sinocyclocheilus as an outstanding model for studying speciation and adaptive evolution. In this study, we conducted a comparative transcriptomics study on the brain tissues of two Sinocyclocheilus species (surface-dwelling species-Sinocyclocheilus malacopterus and semi-cavedwelling species-Sinocyclocheilus rhinocerous living in the same water body. A total of 425,188,768 clean reads were generated, which contributed to 102,839 Unigenes. Bioinformatic analysis revealed a total of 3,289 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between two species Comparing to S. malacopterus, 2,598 and 691 DEGs were found to be respectively, down-regulated and up-regulated in S. rhinocerous. Furthermore, it is also found tens of DEGs related to cave adaptability such as insulin secretion regulation (MafA, MafB, MafK, BRSK, and CDK16) and troglomorphic traits formation (CEP290, nmnat1, coasy, and pqbp1) in the cave-dwelling S. rhinocerous. Interestingly, most of the DEGs were found to be down-regulated in cavefish species and this trend of DEGs expression was confirmed through qPCR experiments. This study would provide an appropriate genetic basis for future studies on the formation of troglomorphic traits and adaptability characters of troglobites, and improve our understanding of mechanisms of cave adaptation.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative Transcriptomics Reveals the Molecular Genetic Basis of Cave Adaptability in Sinocyclocheilus Fish Species

Zhao

Chen

et al. 2020

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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“…It is possible that this is due to altered sensory detection of the acoustic stimuli, or due to changes 210 at the level of processing that affect the threshold of Mauthner neuron activation. Adult surface 211 and cavefish respond to click-like sounds that signal aggression, revealing the presence of 212 acoustic communication between conspecifics in this species (Hyacinthe et al, 2019). Previous 213 analysis of auditory sensitivity in Astyanax did not identify differences between surface and cave 214 populations, supporting the notion that the differences observed are at the level of sensory 215 processing, rather than detection (Popper, 1970, Hinaux, 2016.…”

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confidence: 86%

Evolution of the acoustic startle response of Mexican cavefish

Paz

McDole

Kowalko

et al. 2019

Preprint

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20The ability to detect threatening sensory stimuli and initiate an escape response is essential for 21 survival and under stringent evolutionary pressure. In diverse fish species, acoustic stimuli 22 activate Mauthner neurons, which initiate a stereotypical C-start escape response. This reflexive 23 behavior is highly conserved across aquatic species and provides a model for investigating the 24 neural mechanism underlying the evolution of escape behavior. Here, we define evolved 25 differences in the C-start response between populations of the Mexican cavefish, Astyanax 26 mexicanus. Cave populations of A. mexicanus inhabit in an environment devoid of light and 27 macroscopic predation, resulting in evolved differences in diverse morphological and behavioral 28 traits. We find that the C-start is present in multiple populations of cavefish and river-dwelling 29 surface fish, but response kinematics and probability differ between populations. The Pachón 30 population of cavefish have an increased response probability, a slower response and reduction 31 of the maximum bend angle, revealing evolved differences between surface and cave 32 populations. In two other independently evolved populations of cavefish, the response probability 33 and the kinematics of the response differ from one another, as well as from surface fish, 34suggesting the independent evolution of differences in the C-start response. Investigation of 35 surface-cave hybrids reveals a relationship between angular speed and peak angle, suggesting 36 these two kinematic characteristics are related at the genetic or functional levels. Together, these 37 findings provide support for the use of A. mexicanus as a model to investigate the evolution of 38 escape behavior.39 65 4 66The Mexican cavefish, Astyanax mexicanus is a powerful model for studying behavioral evolution 67 (Keene, McGaugh, & Yoshizawa, 2015;Gross, 2012). These fish exist as surface fish that inhabit 68 rivers in Mexico and Southern Texas and at least 29 geographically isolated cave-dwelling 69 populations of the same species (Mitchell, Russell, & Elliott, 1977;Jeffery, 2009). The ecology of 70 caves differs dramatically from the surface habitat resulting in the emergence of distinct 71 morphological and behavioral phenotypes. For example, the absence of light in caves is thought 72 to contribute to the evolution of albinism, eye-loss, and circadian rhythm (Keene et al, 2015). As 73 a consequence of these environmentally driven changes, these fish are useful models for 74 investigating convergent trait evolution, and more recently, the evolution of neural circuits 75 mediating behavior Alie, 2018; Duboué, 2012). Interestingly, no macroscopic 76 predator the caves lack macroscopic predators of A. mexicanus, raising the possibility that a lack 77 of selective pressure for predator avoidance contributes to morphological and behavioral 78 evolution in cavefish populations (Pitcher, 1986). 80Prominent changes in sensory processing contribute to behavioral evolution in cavefish. This 81 in...

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“…Also, some subterranean animals suddenly attain a new status at the top trophic level and predator release occurs. For example, in the Mexican tetra, Astyanax mexicanus (De Filippi) (Actinopterygii: Characidae), the workhorse of adaptive evolution studies in caves (Jeffery, 2009; Wilkens & Strecker, 2017; Torres‐Paz et al ., 2018), this new ecological status of an apex predator facilitated the evolution of a range of behaviours that may not be sustainable in a predator‐limited surface environment (Yoshizawa et al ., 2010; Hyacinthe, Attia, & Rétaux, 2019).…”

Section: Adaptationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fundamental research questions in subterranean biology

et al. 2020

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Five decades ago, a landmark paper in Science titled The Cave Environment heralded caves as ideal natural experimental laboratories in which to develop and address general questions in geology, ecology, biogeography, and evolutionary biology. Although the ‘caves as laboratory’ paradigm has since been advocated by subterranean biologists, there are few examples of studies that successfully translated their results into general principles. The contemporary era of big data, modelling tools, and revolutionary advances in genetics and (meta)genomics provides an opportunity to revisit unresolved questions and challenges, as well as examine promising new avenues of research in subterranean biology. Accordingly, we have developed a roadmap to guide future research endeavours in subterranean biology by adapting a well‐established methodology of ‘horizon scanning’ to identify the highest priority research questions across six subject areas. Based on the expert opinion of 30 scientists from around the globe with complementary expertise and of different academic ages, we assembled an initial list of 258 fundamental questions concentrating on macroecology and microbial ecology, adaptation, evolution, and conservation. Subsequently, through online surveys, 130 subterranean biologists with various backgrounds assisted us in reducing our list to 50 top‐priority questions. These research questions are broad in scope and ready to be addressed in the next decade. We believe this exercise will stimulate research towards a deeper understanding of subterranean biology and foster hypothesis‐driven studies likely to resonate broadly from the traditional boundaries of this field.

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Evolution of acoustic communication in blind cavefish

Cited by 36 publications

References 49 publications

Comparative Transcriptomics Reveals the Molecular Genetic Basis of Cave Adaptability in Sinocyclocheilus Fish Species

Comparative Transcriptomics Reveals the Molecular Genetic Basis of Cave Adaptability in Sinocyclocheilus Fish Species

Evolution of the acoustic startle response of Mexican cavefish

Fundamental research questions in subterranean biology

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