Dataset Information

Genetic basis of eye and pigment loss in the cave crustacean, Asellus aquaticus.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the process of evolution is one of the great challenges in biology. Cave animals are one group with immense potential to address the mechanisms of evolutionary change. Amazingly, similar morphological alterations, such as enhancement of sensory systems and the loss of eyes and pigmentation, have evolved multiple times in a diverse assemblage of cave animals. Our goal is to develop an invertebrate model to study cave evolution so that, in combination with a previously established vertebrate cave system, we can address genetic questions concerning evolutionary parallelism and convergence. We chose the isopod crustacean, Asellus aquaticus, and generated a genome-wide linkage map for this species. Our map, composed of 117 markers, of which the majority are associated with genes known to be involved in pigmentation, eye, and appendage development, was used to identify loci of large effect responsible for several pigmentation traits and eye loss. Our study provides support for the prediction that significant morphological change can be mediated through one or a few genes. Surprisingly, we found that within population variability in eye size occurs through multiple mechanisms; eye loss has a different genetic basis than reduced eye size. Similarly, again within a population, the phenotype of albinism can be achieved by two different genetic pathways--either by a recessive genotype at one locus or doubly recessive genotypes at two other loci. Our work shows the potential of Asellus for studying the extremes of parallel and convergent evolution-spanning comparisons within populations to comparisons between vertebrate and arthropod systems.

SUBMITTER: Protas ME

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3078413 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Genetic basis of eye and pigment loss in the cave crustacean, Asellus aquaticus.

Protas Meredith E ME Trontelj Peter P Patel Nipam H NH

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20110321 14

Understanding the process of evolution is one of the great challenges in biology. Cave animals are one group with immense potential to address the mechanisms of evolutionary change. Amazingly, similar morphological alterations, such as enhancement of sensory systems and the loss of eyes and pigmentation, have evolved multiple times in a diverse assemblage of cave animals. Our goal is to develop an invertebrate model to study cave evolution so that, in combination with a previously established ve ...[more]

PMID: 21422298

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Project description:The freshwater isopod crustacean Asellus aquaticus has recently been developed as an emerging invertebrate cave model for studying evolutionary and developmental biology. Mostly morphological and genetic differences between cave and surface A. aquaticus populations have been described up to now, while scarce data are available on other aspects, including physiology. The purpose of this study was to advance our understanding of the physiological differences between cave A. aquaticus and its surface-dwelling counterparts. We sampled two surface populations from the surface section of the sinking Pivka River (central Slovenia, Europe), i.e. locality Pivka Polje, and locality Planina Polje, and one cave population from the subterranean section of the sinking Pivka River, i.e. locality Planina Cave. Animals were sampled in spring, summer and autumn. We measured the activities of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) in individuals snap-frozen in the field immediately after collection. Acetylcholinesterase is likely related to animals' locomotor activity, while GST activity is related to the metabolic activity of an organism. Our study shows significantly lower AChE and GST activities in the cave population in comparison to both surface A. aquaticus populations. This confirms the assumption that cave A. aquaticus have lower locomotor and metabolic activity than surface A. aquaticus in their respective natural environments. In surface A. aquaticus populations, seasonal fluctuations in GST activity were observed, while these were less pronounced in individuals from the more stable cave environment. On the other hand, AChE activity was generally season-independent in all populations. To our knowledge, this is the first study of its kind conducted in A. aquaticus. Our results show that among closely related cave and surface A. aquaticus populations also physiological differences are present besides the morphological and genetic. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the biology of A. aquaticus and cave crustaceans in general.

Dataset Information

Genetic basis of eye and pigment loss in the cave crustacean, Asellus aquaticus.

Publications

Genetic basis of eye and pigment loss in the cave crustacean, Asellus aquaticus.

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