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A chromosome-level genome of Astyanax mexicanus surface fish for comparing population-specific genetic differences contributing to trait evolution

Warren, WC; Boggs, TE; Borowsky, R; Carlson, BM; Ferrufino, E; Gross, JB; Hillier, L; ... Rohner, N; + view all (2021) A chromosome-level genome of Astyanax mexicanus surface fish for comparing population-specific genetic differences contributing to trait evolution. Nature Communications , 12 (1) 10.1038/s41467-021-21733-z. (In press). Green open access

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Abstract

Identifying the genetic factors that underlie complex traits is central to understanding the mechanistic underpinnings of evolution. Cave-dwelling Astyanax mexicanus populations are well adapted to subterranean life and many populations appear to have evolved troglomorphic traits independently, while the surface-dwelling populations can be used as a proxy for the ancestral form. Here we present a high-resolution, chromosome-level surface fish genome, enabling the first genome-wide comparison between surface fish and cavefish populations. Using this resource, we performed quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping analyses and found new candidate genes for eye loss such as dusp26. We used CRISPR gene editing in A. mexicanus to confirm the essential role of a gene within an eye size QTL, rx3, in eye formation. We also generated the first genome-wide evaluation of deletion variability across cavefish populations to gain insight into this potential source of cave adaptation. The surface fish genome reference now provides a more complete resource for comparative, functional and genetic studies of drastic trait differences within a species.

Type: Article
Title: A chromosome-level genome of Astyanax mexicanus surface fish for comparing population-specific genetic differences contributing to trait evolution
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21733-z
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-21733-z
Language: English
Additional information: Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > Div of Biosciences > Cell and Developmental Biology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10123860
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