Genome-wide analysis of cis-regulatory changes underlying metabolic adaptation of cavefish.

ABSTRACT: Cis-regulatory changes are key drivers of adaptative evolution. However, their contribution to the metabolic adaptation of organisms is not well understood. Here, we used a unique vertebrate model, Astyanax mexicanus-different morphotypes of which survive in nutrient-rich surface and nutrient-deprived cave waters-to uncover gene regulatory networks underlying metabolic adaptation. We performed genome-wide epigenetic profiling in the liver tissues of Astyanax and found that many of the identified cis-regulatory elements (CREs) have genetically diverged and have differential chromatin features between surface and cave morphotypes, while retaining remarkably similar regulatory signatures between independently derived cave populations. One such CRE in the hpdb gene harbors a genomic deletion i

SUBMITTER: Krishnan J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9178706 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature