Rapid Divergence of Visual Systems and Signaling Traits to Contrasting Light Regimes During Early Speciation of African Crater Lake Cichlid Fish.

ABSTRACT: Sensory adaptation is widely hypothesized to drive ecological speciation, yet empirical evidence from natural populations undergoing early stage divergence remains limited. In Lake Masoko, a young crater lake in East Africa, the haplochromine cichlid Astatotilapia calliptera is undergoing early stage sympatric speciation into shallow-water littoral and deep-water benthic ecotypes that experience contrasting light environments. Here, we integrate retinal transcriptomics, phenotypic analyses, and visual modeling to uncover rapid sensory divergence associated with this ecological transition. We find striking shifts in cone opsin expression, with the benthic ecotype exhibiting a switch from short-wavelength sensitive SWS2B to SWS2A and an overall narrowing of cone sensitivity toward the center

SUBMITTER: Carruthers M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12418386 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature