Contrasting Gene Decay in Subterranean Vertebrates: Insights from Cavefishes and Fossorial Mammals.

ABSTRACT: Evolution sometimes proceeds by loss, especially when structures and genes become dispensable after an environmental shift relaxes functional constraints. Subterranean vertebrates are outstanding models to analyze this process, and gene decay can serve as a readout. We sought to understand some general principles on the extent and tempo of the decay of genes involved in vision, circadian clock, and pigmentation in cavefishes. The analysis of the genomes of two Cuban species belonging to the genus Lucifuga provided evidence for the largest loss of eye-specific genes and nonvisual opsin genes reported so far in cavefishes. Comparisons with a recently evolved cave population of Astyanax mexicanus and three species belonging to the Chinese tetraploid genus Sinocyclocheilus revealed the combine

SUBMITTER: Policarpo M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7826195 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature