Heterochronic development of lateral plates in the three-spined stickleback induced by thyroid hormone level alterations.

ABSTRACT: The three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus is an important model for studying microevolution and parallel adaptation to freshwater environments. Marine and freshwater forms differ markedly in their phenotype, especially in the number of lateral plates, which are serially repeated elements of the exoskeleton. In fishes, thyroid hormones are involved in adaptation to salinity, as well as the developmental regulation of serially repeated elements. To study how thyroid hormones influence lateral plate development, we manipulated levels of triiodothyronine and thiourea during early ontogeny in a marine and freshwater population with complete and low plate phenotypes, respectively. The development of lateral plates along the body and keel was heterochronic among experimental groups. Fis

SUBMITTER: Bolotovskiy AA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5844557 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature