Molecular evolution and depth-related adaptations of rhodopsin in the adaptive radiation of cichlid fishes in Lake Tanganyika.

ABSTRACT: The visual sensory system is essential for animals to perceive their environment and is thus under strong selection. In aquatic environments, light intensity and spectrum differ primarily along a depth gradient. Rhodopsin (RH1) is the only opsin responsible for dim-light vision in vertebrates and has been shown to evolve in response to the respective light conditions, including along a water depth gradient in fishes. In this study, we examined the diversity and sequence evolution of RH1 in virtually the entire adaptive radiation of cichlid fishes in Lake Tanganyika, focusing on adaptations to the environmental light with respect to depth. We show that Tanganyikan cichlid genomes contain a single copy of RH1. The 76 variable amino acid sites detected in RH1 across the radiation were not uni

SUBMITTER: Ricci V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9314932 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature