In-Frame Indel Mutations in the Genome of the Blind Mexican Cavefish, Astyanax mexicanus.

ABSTRACT: Organisms living in the subterranean biome evolve extreme characteristics including vision loss and sensory expansion. Despite prior work linking certain genes to Mendelian traits, the genetic basis for complex cave-associated traits remains unknown. Moreover, it is unclear if certain forms of genetic variation (e.g., indels, copy number variants) are more common in regressive evolution. Progress in this area has been limited by a lack of suitable natural model systems and genomic resources. In recent years, the Mexican tetra, Astyanax mexicanus, has advanced as a model for cave biology and regressive evolution. Here, we present the results of a genome-wide screen for in-frame indels using alignments of RNA-sequencing reads to the draft cavefish genome. Mutations were discovered in three g

SUBMITTER: Berning D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6751357 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature