Transcriptome profiling of immune tissues reveals habitat-specific gene expression between lake and river sticklebacks.

ABSTRACT: The observation of habitat-specific phenotypes suggests the action of natural selection. The three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) has repeatedly colonized and adapted to diverse freshwater habitats across the northern hemisphere since the last glaciation, while giving rise to recurring phenotypes associated with specific habitats. Parapatric lake and river populations of sticklebacks harbour distinct parasite communities, a factor proposed to contribute to adaptive differentiation between these ecotypes. However, little is known about the transcriptional response to the distinct parasite pressure of those fish in a natural setting. Here, we sampled wild-caught sticklebacks across four geographical locations from lake and river habitats differing in their parasite load. We comp

SUBMITTER: Huang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4790908 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature