Project description:Whole-genome methylomes and total transcriptomes for muscle and liver tissues of Lake Malawi cichlid species characterised in the context of phenotypic diversification.
Project description:We use the continuously replacing dentition of Lake Malawi cichlid fishes to understand de-novo tooth replacement in adult vertebrates. In this system, each tooth is replaced in a one-for-one fashion every ~50 days. Here, we explore the source of epithelial stem cells for tooth replacement.
Project description:Here we use single nuclei RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) of replacement teeth and adjacent oral lamina in Lake Malawi cichlids, species with lifelong whole-tooth replacement, to make two main discoveries. First, despite hundreds of millions of years of evolution, we demonstrate conservation of cell type gene expression across vertebrate teeth (fish, mouse, human). Second, we used an approach that combines marker gene expression and developmental potential of dental cells to uncover the transcriptional signature of stem-like cells in regenerating teeth. Our work underscores the importance of a comparative framework in the study of vertebrate oral and regenerative biology.
Project description:Here we use single nuclei RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) of replacement teeth and adjacent oral lamina in Lake Malawi cichlids, species with lifelong whole-tooth replacement, to make two main discoveries. First, despite hundreds of millions of years of evolution, we demonstrate conservation of cell type gene expression across vertebrate teeth (fish, mouse, human). Second, we used an approach that combines marker gene expression and developmental potential of dental cells to uncover the transcriptional signature of stem-like cells in regenerating teeth. Our work underscores the importance of a comparative framework in the study of vertebrate oral and regenerative biology.
Project description:Throughout the animal kingdom, we know many examples of mating system evolution that exemplify adaptive responses to changes in the environment, yet our understanding of the accompanying neural and molecular mechanisms that give rise to such behavioral changes remains understudied. In the present study we aimed to define the molecular basis of interspecific variation in social organization in Ectodini cichlids from Lake Tanganyika. We selected four closely related species that represent two independent evolutions of monogamy: the polygynous Xenotilapia ochrogenys, the monogamous Xenotilapia flavipinnis, the polygynous Microdontochromis tenuidentata and the monogamous Asprotilapia leptura. Using a single cichlid microarray platform, we conducted a total of 28 direct comparisons for neural gene expression level among males and 26 among females of four species that represent 2 independent evolutions of monogamy. Our results indicate the gene expression profiles display remarkable plasticity across different time scales because we find differences associated with sex, mating system, and lineage.