Molecular Ecology最新文献

{"title":"Divergent Flowering Time Responses to Increasing Temperatures Are Associated With Transcriptome Plasticity and Epigenetic Modification Differences at FLC Promoter Region of Arabidopsis thaliana.","authors":"Yu Han, Li Liu, Mengyu Lei, Wei Liu, Huan Si, Yan Ji, Qiao Du, Mingjia Zhu, Wenjia Zhang, Yifei Dai, Jianquan Liu, Yanjun Zan","doi":"10.1111/mec.17544","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17544","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Understanding the genetic, and transcriptomic changes that drive the phenotypic plasticity of fitness traits is a central question in evolutionary biology. In this study, we utilised 152 natural Swedish Arabidopsis thaliana accessions with re-sequenced genomes, transcriptomes and methylomes and measured flowering times (FTs) under two temperature conditions (10°C and 16°C) to address this question. We revealed that the northern accessions exhibited advanced flowering in response to decreased temperature, whereas the southern accessions delayed their flowering, indicating a divergent flowering response. This contrast in flowering responses was associated with the isothermality of their native ranges, which potentially enables the northern accessions to complete their life cycle more rapidly in years with shorter growth seasons. At the transcriptome level, we observed extensive rewiring of gene co-expression networks, with the expression of 25 core genes being associated with the mean FT and its plastic variation. Notably, variations in FLC expression sensitivity between northern and southern accessions were found to be associated with the divergence FT response. Further analysis suggests that FLC expression sensitivity is associated with differences in CG, CHG and CHH methylation at the promoter region. Overall, our study revealed the association between transcriptome plasticity and flowering time plasticity among different accessions, providing evidence for its relevance in ecological adaptation. These findings offer deeper insights into the genetics of rapid responses to environmental changes and ecological adaptation.</p>","PeriodicalId":210,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Ecology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142363630","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Adaptive potential in the face of a transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils","authors":"Kasha Strickland,&nbsp;Menna E. Jones,&nbsp;Andrew Storfer,&nbsp;Rodrigo K. Hamede,&nbsp;Paul A. Hohenlohe,&nbsp;Mark J. Margres,&nbsp;Hamish I. McCallum,&nbsp;Sebastien Comte,&nbsp;Shelly Lachish,&nbsp;Loeske E. B. Kruuk","doi":"10.1111/mec.17531","DOIUrl":"10.1111/mec.17531","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) not only cause catastrophic declines in wildlife populations but also generate selective pressures that may result in rapid evolutionary responses. One such EID is devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) in the Tasmanian devil. DFTD is almost always fatal and has reduced the average lifespan of individuals by around 2 years, likely causing strong selection for traits that reduce susceptibility to the disease, but population decline has also left Tasmanian devils vulnerable to inbreeding depression. We analysed 22 years of data from an ongoing study of a population of Tasmanian devils on Freycinet Peninsula, Tasmania, to (1) identify whether DFTD may be causing selection on body size, by estimating phenotypic and genetic correlations between DFTD and size traits, (2) estimate the additive genetic variance of susceptibility to DFTD, and (3) investigate whether size traits or susceptibility to DFTD were under inbreeding depression. We found a positive phenotypic relationship between head width and susceptibility to DFTD, but this was not underpinned by a genetic correlation. Conversely, we found a negative phenotypic relationship between body weight and susceptibility to DFTD, and there was evidence for a negative genetic correlation between susceptibility to DFTD and body weight. There was additive genetic variance in susceptibility to DFTD, head width and body weight, but there was no evidence for inbreeding depression in any of these traits. These results suggest that Tasmanian devils have the potential to respond adaptively to DFTD, although the realised evolutionary response will critically further depend on the evolution of DFTD itself.</p>","PeriodicalId":210,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Ecology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11521764/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142338003","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Interplay between vertebrate adaptive immunity and bacterial infectivity genes: Bank vole MHC versus Borrelia afzelii OspC","authors":"Joanna Różańska-Wróbel,&nbsp;Magdalena Migalska,&nbsp;Anna Urbanowicz,&nbsp;Maciej Grzybek,&nbsp;Ryan O. M. Rego,&nbsp;Anna Bajer,&nbsp;Dorota Dwuznik-Szarek,&nbsp;Mohammed Alsarraf,&nbsp;Jolanta Behnke-Borowczyk,&nbsp;Jerzy M. Behnke,&nbsp;Jacek Radwan","doi":"10.1111/mec.17534","DOIUrl":"10.1111/mec.17534","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Coevolution of parasites with their hosts may lead to balancing selection on genes involved in determining the specificity of host–parasite interactions, but examples of such specific interactions in wild vertebrates are scarce. Here, we investigated whether the polymorphic outer surface protein C (OspC), used by the Lyme disease agent, <i>Borrelia afzelii</i>, to manipulate vertebrate host innate immunity, interacts with polymorphic major histocompatibility genes (MHC), while concurrently eliciting a strong antibody response, in one of its main hosts in Europe, the bank vole. We found signals of balancing selection acting on OspC, resulting in little differentiation in OspC variant frequencies between years. Neither MHC alleles nor their inferred functional groupings (supertypes) significantly predicted the specificity of infection with strains carrying different OspC variants. However, we found that MHC alleles, but not supertypes, significantly predicted the level of IgG antibodies against two common OspC variants among seropositive individuals. Our results thus indicate that MHC alleles differ in their ability to induce antibody responses against specific OspC variants, which may contribute to selection of OspC polymorphism by the vole immune system.</p>","PeriodicalId":210,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Ecology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142306804","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Defence-relevant gene expression differences in hatchlings among wild Newfoundland and farmed European and North American Atlantic salmon and their hybrids","authors":"Eric H. Ignatz,&nbsp;Xi Xue,&nbsp;Jennifer R. Hall,&nbsp;Shahinur S. Islam,&nbsp;Matthew L. Rise,&nbsp;Ian A. Fleming","doi":"10.1111/mec.17535","DOIUrl":"10.1111/mec.17535","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Escape of genetically distinct farmed Atlantic salmon (<i>Salmo salar</i>) raises concerns about their potential interactions with wild populations and the disruption of local adaptation through genetic admixture. It is often unknown whether genetic origin or common domestication effects will have a greater influence on consequences posed by escaped farmed fish. Previous work showed that domestication could have prevalent effects on the behaviour and growth of farmed salmon, independent of their genetic origin. Yet, less is known whether this extends more broadly to gene expression, particularly at critical early life stages. Thus, we compared the expression of 24 transcripts related to the immune response, structural maintenance, stress response and iron metabolism among distinct farmed (North American [NA] and European [EO]), wild (Newfoundland) and F₁ hybrid salmon at hatching under controlled conditions using qPCR analyses. A slightly higher number of transcripts were differentially expressed between the wild population relative to EO (i.e. <i>atf3a</i>, <i>atf3b</i>, <i>bnip3</i>, <i>trim37a</i>, <i>ftm</i>, <i>hp</i> and <i>gapdh</i>) than NA-farmed salmon (i.e. <i>epdl2</i>, <i>hba1a</i>, <i>hba1b</i>, <i>hbb4</i> and <i>ftm</i>). The most differences existed between the two farmed strains themselves (11 of 24 transcripts), with the fewest differentially expressed transcripts found between the F₁ hybrids and the domesticated/wild maternal strains (4 of 24 transcripts). Interestingly, despite similarities in the overall extent of gene expression differences among cross types, the expression patterns differed relative to a past study that compared fry from the same cross types at the end of yolk sac absorption. Overall, our findings suggest that interbreeding of escaped farmed salmon with wild Newfoundland populations would alter transcript expression levels and that developmental stage influences these changes.</p>","PeriodicalId":210,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Ecology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/mec.17535","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142306803","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Host preference explains the high endemism of ectomycorrhizal fungi in a dipterocarp rainforest","authors":"Hirotoshi Sato,&nbsp;Ajuwin Lain,&nbsp;Takafumi Mizuno,&nbsp;Satoshi Yamashita,&nbsp;Jamilah Binti Hassan,&nbsp;Khairunnisa Binti Othman,&nbsp;Takao Itioka","doi":"10.1111/mec.17529","DOIUrl":"10.1111/mec.17529","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi are important tree symbionts within forests. The biogeography of ECM fungi remains to be investigated because it is challenging to observe and identify species. Because most ECM plant taxa have a Holarctic distribution, it is difficult to evaluate the extent to which host preference restricts the global distribution of ECM fungi. To address this issue, we aimed to assess whether host preference enhances the endemism of ECM fungi that inhabit dipterocarp rainforests. Highly similar sequences of 175 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) for ECM fungi that were obtained from Lambir Hill's National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia, were searched for in a nucleotide sequence database. Using a two-step binomial model, the probability of presence for the query OTUs and the registration rate of barcode sequences in each country were simultaneously estimated. The results revealed that the probability of presence in the respective countries increased with increasing species richness of Dipterocarpaceae and decreasing geographical distance from the study site (i.e. Lambir). Furthermore, most of the ECM fungi were shown to be endemic to Malaysia and neighbouring countries. These findings suggest that not only dispersal limitation but also host preference are responsible for the high endemism of ECM fungi in dipterocarp rainforests. Moreover, host preference likely determines the areas where ECM fungi potentially expand and dispersal limitation creates distance–decay patterns within suitable habitats. Although host preference has received less attention than dispersal limitation, our findings support that host preference has a profound influence on the global distribution of ECM fungi.</p>","PeriodicalId":210,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Ecology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/mec.17529","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142255552","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Genetic rescue often leads to higher fitness as a result of increased heterozygosity across animal taxa","authors":"Julia G. Clarke,&nbsp;Adam C. Smith,&nbsp;Catherine I. Cullingham","doi":"10.1111/mec.17532","DOIUrl":"10.1111/mec.17532","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Biodiversity loss has reached critical levels partly due to anthropogenic habitat loss and degradation. These landscape changes are damaging as they can fragment species distributions into small, isolated populations, resulting in limited gene flow, population declines and reduced adaptive potential. Genetic rescue, the translocation of individuals to increase genetic diversity and ultimately fitness, has produced promising results for fragmented populations but remains underutilized due to a lack of long-term data and monitoring. To promote a better understanding of genetic rescue and its potential risks and benefits over the short-term, we reviewed and analysed published genetic rescue attempts to identify whether genetic diversity increases following translocation, and if this change is associated with increased fitness. Our review identified 19 studies that provided genetic and fitness data from before and after the translocation; the majority of these were on mammals, and included experimental, natural and conservation-motivated translocations. Using a Bayesian meta-analytical approach, we found that on average, genetic diversity and fitness increased in populations post translocations, although there were some exceptions to this trend. Overall, genetic diversity was a positive predictor of population fitness, and in some cases this relationship extended three generations post-rescue. These data suggest a single translocation can have lasting fitness benefits, and support translocation as another tool to facilitate conservation success. Given the limited number of studies with long-term data, we echo the need for genetic monitoring of populations post-translocation to understand whether genetic rescue can also limit the loss of adaptive potential in the long-term.</p>","PeriodicalId":210,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Ecology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/mec.17532","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142255757","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Genome-wide population affinities and signatures of adaptation in hydruntines, sussemiones and Asian wild asses","authors":"Jianfei Pan,&nbsp;Xuexue Liu,&nbsp;Mateusz Baca,&nbsp;Laure Calvière-Tonasso,&nbsp;Stéphanie Schiavinato,&nbsp;Loreleï Chauvey,&nbsp;Gaétan Tressières,&nbsp;Aude Perdereau,&nbsp;Jean-Marc Aury,&nbsp;Pedro H. Oliveira,&nbsp;Patrick Wincker,&nbsp;Aida Abdykanova,&nbsp;Juan Luis Arsuaga,&nbsp;Jamsranjav Bayarsaikhan,&nbsp;Andrey B. Belinskiy,&nbsp;Eudald Carbonell,&nbsp;Hossein Davoudi,&nbsp;Jaime Lira Garrido,&nbsp;Allan S. Gilbert,&nbsp;Taylor Hermes,&nbsp;Christina Warinner,&nbsp;Alexey A. Kalmykov,&nbsp;David Lordkipanidze,&nbsp;Paweł Mackiewicz,&nbsp;Azadeh F. Mohaseb,&nbsp;Kristine Richter,&nbsp;Nuritdin Sayfullaev,&nbsp;Beth Shapiro,&nbsp;Svetlana Shnaider,&nbsp;John Southon,&nbsp;Krzysztof Stefaniak,&nbsp;Geoffrey D. Summers,&nbsp;Eline Naomi van Asperen,&nbsp;Nikoloz Vanishvili,&nbsp;Eden A. Hill,&nbsp;Pavel Kuznetsov,&nbsp;Sabine Reinhold,&nbsp;Svend Hansen,&nbsp;Marjan Mashkour,&nbsp;Rémi Berthon,&nbsp;William Timothy Treal Taylor,&nbsp;Jean-Luc Houle,&nbsp;Evon Hekkala,&nbsp;Danijela Popović,&nbsp;Ludovic Orlando","doi":"10.1111/mec.17527","DOIUrl":"10.1111/mec.17527","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The extremely rich palaeontological record of the horse family, also known as equids, has provided many examples of macroevolutionary change over the last ~55 Mya. This family is also one of the most documented at the palaeogenomic level, with hundreds of ancient genomes sequenced. While these data have advanced understanding of the domestication history of horses and donkeys, the palaeogenomic record of other equids remains limited. In this study, we have generated genome-wide data for 25 ancient equid specimens spanning over 44 Ky and spread across Anatolia, the Caucasus, Central Asia and Mongolia. Our dataset includes the genomes from two extinct species, the European wild ass, <i>Equus hydruntinus</i>, and the sussemione <i>Equus ovodovi</i>. We document, for the first time, the presence of sussemiones in Mongolia and their survival around ~3.9 Kya, a finding that should be considered when discussing the timing of the first arrival of the domestic horse in the region. We also identify strong spatial differentiation within the historical ecological range of Asian wild asses, <i>Equus hemionus</i>, and incomplete reproductive isolation in several groups yet considered as different species. Finally, we find common selection signatures at <i>ANTXR2</i> gene in European, Asian and African wild asses. This locus, which encodes a receptor for bacterial toxins, shows no selection signal in <i>E. ovodovi</i>, but a 5.4-kb deletion within intron 7. Whether such genetic modifications played any role in the sussemione extinction remains unknown.</p>","PeriodicalId":210,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Ecology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/mec.17527","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142255756","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Inter-algal associations and nutrients linked by Scenedesmus and Desmodesmus structure eukaryotic algal communities","authors":"Juan Lin,&nbsp;Hongxia Wang,&nbsp;Jianfeng Chen,&nbsp;Yun Li","doi":"10.1111/mec.17528","DOIUrl":"10.1111/mec.17528","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Eutrophication reduces the variability of the community composition of plankton. However, the mechanisms underlying the diversity and restructuring of eukaryotic algal communities remain unknown. This study analysed the diversity and compositional patterns of algal communities in shallow eutrophic lakes. It investigated how these communities were modified by key genera through mediating inter-algal associations under the influence of abiotic factors. Inter-algal associations explained more variance in algal communities than environmental variables, and variation in composition and diversity was primarily derived from <i>Scenedesmus</i>, <i>Desmodesmus</i> and <i>Cryptomonas</i>, rather than nutrients. <i>Scenedesmus</i> and <i>Desmodesmus</i> were positively correlated with the genera of Chlorophyta and formed the hub of the algal association network. When the relative abundance of <i>Scenedesmus</i> and <i>Desmodesmus</i> increased from 0.41% to 13.74%, communities enriched in biomarkers of Bacillariophyta, Chrysophyceae and Cryptophyta transitioned to communities enriched in biomarkers of Chlorophyta. Moreover, negative associations between the Chlorophyta hub genera and other non-Chlorophyta genera increased. High concentrations of total phosphorus altered the composition of algal communities by increasing the abundance of <i>Scenedesmus</i> and <i>Desmodesmus</i>, which in turn had cascading effects through inter-algal associations. Additionally, algal communities with higher abundances of <i>Scenedesmus</i> and <i>Desmodesmus</i> were more susceptible to the effects of total phosphorus. Our study suggested that inter-algal associations, centred on <i>Scenedesmus</i> and <i>Desmodesmus</i>, had a greater influence on algal diversity and community structure than other factors. Nutrient levels were not a direct driver of algal diversity and community structure adjustments, but acted indirectly by enhancing the influence of <i>Scenedesmus</i> and <i>Desmodesmus</i>.</p>","PeriodicalId":210,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Ecology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142255758","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Deployment of tethered gene drive for confined suppression in continuous space requires avoiding drive wave interference","authors":"Ruobing Feng,&nbsp;Jackson Champer","doi":"10.1111/mec.17530","DOIUrl":"10.1111/mec.17530","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Gene drives have great potential for suppression of pest populations and removal of exotic invasive species. CRISPR homing suppression drive is a powerful but unconfined drive, posing risks of uncontrolled spread. Thus, developing methods for confining a gene drive is of great significance. Tethered drive combines a confined system such as Toxin-Antidote Recessive Embryo drive with a strong drive such as a homing suppression drive. It can prevent the homing drive from spreading beyond the confined drive and can be constructed readily, giving it good prospects for future development. However, we have found that care must be taken when deploying tethered drive systems in some scenarios. Simulations of tethered drive in a panmictic population model reveal that successful deployment requires a proper release ratio between the two components, tailored to prevent the suppression drive from eliminating the confined system before it has the chance to spread. Spatial models where the population moves over a one-dimensional landscape display a more serious phenomenon of drive wave interference between the two tethered drive components. If the faster suppression drive wave catches up to the confined drive wave, success is still possible, but it is dependent on drive performance and ecological parameters. Two-dimensional simulations further restrict the parameter range for drive success. Thus, careful consideration must be given to drive performance and ecological conditions, as well as specific release proposals for potential application of tethered drive systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":210,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Ecology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142255554","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Signatures of convergence in Neotropical cichlid fish","authors":"Mariana Leal-Cardín,&nbsp;Seraina E. Bracamonte,&nbsp;Javier Aldegunde,&nbsp;Isabel S. Magalhaes,&nbsp;Claudia Patricia Ornelas-García,&nbsp;Marta Barluenga","doi":"10.1111/mec.17524","DOIUrl":"10.1111/mec.17524","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Convergent evolution of similar phenotypes suggests some predictability in the evolutionary trajectories of organisms, due to strong and repeated selective pressures, and/or developmental constraints. In adaptive radiations, particularly in cichlid fish radiations, convergent phenotypes are commonly found within and across geographical settings. Cichlids show major repeated axes of morphological diversification. Recurrent changes in body patterns reveal adaption to alternative habitats, and modifications of the trophic apparatus respond to the exploitation of different food resources. Here we compare morphologically and genetically two Neotropical cichlid assemblages, the Mexican desert cichlid and the Nicaraguan Midas cichlid, with similar polymorphic body and trophic adaptations despite their independent evolution. We found a common morphological axis of differentiation in trophic structures in both cichlid radiations, but two different axes of differentiation in body shape, defining two alternative limnetic body patterns. Adaptation to limnetic habitats implied regulation of immune functions in the Midas cichlid, while morphogenesis and metabolic functions in the desert cichlid. Convergent phenotypic adaptions could be associated to divergent gene regulation.</p>","PeriodicalId":210,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Ecology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/mec.17524","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142269061","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}