Craniofacial-specific transcriptomics uncovers novel genes underlying jaw divergence in dietary specialist pupfishes.

ABSTRACT: Changes in gene expression underlie most phenotypic differences among closely related species. While previous studies in model systems have identified conserved genes and pathways involved in craniofacial evolution, less is known about gene expression differences associated with craniofacial divergence in rapidly evolving species. Here, we investigate craniofacial-specific gene expression in a nascent adaptive radiation of Cyprinodon pupfishes endemic to San Salvador Island, Bahamas, which includes 3 trophic specialists with highly divergent craniofacial morphologies (two scale-eaters and a molluscivore) derived from an ancestral Caribbean-wide generalist. We compared gene expression in the most morphologically divergent craniofacial region with the relatively conserved caudal region acros

SUBMITTER: Palominos MF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12693500 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature