Dataset Information

Gene Profiling in the Adipose Fin of Salmonid Fishes Supports its Function as a Flow Sensor.

ABSTRACT: In stock enhancement and sea-ranching procedures, the adipose fin of hundreds of millions of salmonids is removed for marking purposes annually. However, recent studies proved the significance of the adipose fin as a flow sensor and attraction feature. In the present study, we profiled the specific expression of 20 neuron- and glial cell-marker genes in the adipose fin and seven other tissues (including dorsal and pectoral fin, brain, skin, muscle, head kidney, and liver) of the salmonid species rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss and maraena whitefish Coregonus maraena. Moreover, we measured the transcript abundance of genes coding for 15 mechanoreceptive channel proteins from a variety of mechanoreceptors known in vertebrates. The overall expression patterns indicate the presence of the entire repertoire of neurons, glial cells and receptor proteins on the RNA level. This quantification suggests that the adipose fin contains considerable amounts of small nerve fibers with unmyelinated or slightly myelinated axons and most likely mechanoreceptive potential. The findings are consistent for both rainbow trout and maraena whitefish and support a previous hypothesis about the innervation and potential flow sensory function of the adipose fin. Moreover, our data suggest that the resection of the adipose fin has a stronger impact on the welfare of salmonid fish than previously assumed.

SUBMITTER: Koll R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7016824 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Gene Profiling in the Adipose Fin of Salmonid Fishes Supports its Function as a Flow Sensor.

Koll Raphael R Martorell Ribera Joan J Martorell Ribera Joan J Brunner Ronald M RM Rebl Alexander A Goldammer Tom T

Genes 20191223 1

In stock enhancement and sea-ranching procedures, the adipose fin of hundreds of millions of salmonids is removed for marking purposes annually. However, recent studies proved the significance of the adipose fin as a flow sensor and attraction feature. In the present study, we profiled the specific expression of 20 neuron- and glial cell-marker genes in the adipose fin and seven other tissues (including dorsal and pectoral fin, brain, skin, muscle, head kidney, and liver) of the salmonid species ...[more]

PMID: 31878086

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Project description:BackgroundUnderstanding the genetic basis of novel traits is a central topic in evolutionary biology. Two novel pigmentation phenotypes, egg-spots and blotches, emerged during the rapid diversification of East African cichlid fishes. Egg-spots are circular pigmentation markings on the anal fins of hundreds of derived haplochromine cichlids species, whereas blotches are patches of conspicuous anal fin pigmentation with ill-defined boundaries that occur in few species that belong to basal cichlid lineages. Both traits play an important role in the breeding behavior of this group of fishes. Knowledge about the origin, homology and underlying genetics of these pigmentation traits is sparse.ResultsHere, we present a comparative transcriptomic and differential gene expression analysis of egg-spots and blotches. We first conducted an RNA sequencing experiment where we compared egg-spot tissue with the remaining portion of egg-spot-free fin tissue using six individuals of Astatotilapia burtoni. We identified 1229 differentially expressed genes between the two tissue types. We then showed that rates of evolution of these genes are higher than average estimated on whole transcriptome data. Using quantitative real-time PCR, we found that 29 out of a subset of 46 differentially expressed genes showed an analogous expression pattern in another haplochromine species' egg-spots, Cynotilapia pulpican, strongly suggesting that these genes are involved in the egg-spot phenotype. Among these are the previously identified egg-spot gene fhl2a, two known patterning genes (hoxC12a and bmp3) as well as other pigmentation related genes such as asip. Finally, we analyzed the expression patterns of the same gene subset in two species that feature blotches instead of egg-spots, one haplochromine species (Pseudocrenilabrus philander) and one ectodine species (Callochromis macrops), revealing that the expression patterns in blotches and egg-spots are rather distinct.ConclusionsWe identified several candidate genes that will serve as an important and useful resource for future research on the emergence and diversification of cichlid fishes' egg-spots. Only a limited degree of conservation of gene expression patterns was detected between the egg-spots of the derived haplochromines and blotches from ancestral haplochromines, as well as between the two types of blotches, suggesting an independent origin of these traits.

Dataset Information

Gene Profiling in the Adipose Fin of Salmonid Fishes Supports its Function as a Flow Sensor.

Publications

Gene Profiling in the Adipose Fin of Salmonid Fishes Supports its Function as a Flow Sensor.

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