Morphological and temporal variation in early embryogenesis contributes to species divergence in Malawi cichlid fishes.

ABSTRACT: The cichlid fishes comprise the largest extant vertebrate family and are the quintessential example of rapid "explosive" adaptive radiations and phenotypic diversification. Despite low genetic divergence, East African cichlids harbor a spectacular intra- and interspecific morphological diversity, including the hyper-variable, neural crest (NC)-derived traits such as coloration and craniofacial skeleton. Although the genetic and developmental basis of these phenotypes has been investigated, understanding of when, and specifically how early, in ontogeny species-specific differences emerge, remains limited. Since adult traits often originate during embryonic development, the processes of embryogenesis could serve as a potential source of species-specific variation. Consequently, we designed a

SUBMITTER: Marconi A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10909517 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature