Transcriptomic evidence for visual adaptation during the aquatic to terrestrial metamorphosis in leopard frogs.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Differences in morphology, ecology, and behavior through ontogeny can result in opposing selective pressures at different life stages. Most animals, however, transition through two or more distinct phenotypic phases, which is hypothesized to allow each life stage to adapt more freely to its ecological niche. How this applies to sensory systems, and in particular how sensory systems adapt across life stages at the molecular level, is not well understood. Here, we used whole-eye transcriptomes to investigate differences in gene expression between tadpole and juvenile southern leopard frogs (Lithobates sphenocephalus), which rely on vision in aquatic and terrestrial light environments, respectively. Because visual physiology changes with light levels, we also tested the eff

SUBMITTER: Schott RK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9238225 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature