The genomic basis for colonizing the freezing Southern Ocean revealed by Antarctic toothfish and Patagonian robalo genomes.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The Southern Ocean is the coldest ocean on Earth but a hot spot of evolution. The bottom-dwelling Eocene ancestor of Antarctic notothenioid fishes survived polar marine glaciation and underwent adaptive radiation, forming >120 species that fill all water column niches today. Genome-wide changes enabling physiological adaptations and the rapid expansion of the Antarctic notothenioids remain poorly understood.

Results

We sequenced and compared 2 notothenioid genomes-the cold-adapted and neutrally buoyant Antarctic toothfish Dissostichus mawsoni and the basal Patagonian robalo Eleginops maclovinus, representing the temperate ancestor. We detected >200 protein gene families that had expanded and thousands of genes that had evolved faster in the toothfish, with diverse

SUBMITTER: Chen L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6457430 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature