Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, United States.
Department of Molecular Biology, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb, Croatia.
Elife. 2020 Apr 21;9:e51830. doi: 10.7554/eLife.51830.
A widely accepted model for the evolution of cave animals posits colonization by surface ancestors followed by the acquisition of adaptations over many generations. However, the speed of cave adaptation in some species suggests mechanisms operating over shorter timescales. To address these mechanisms, we used , a teleost with ancestral surface morphs (surface fish, SF) and derived cave morphs (cavefish, CF). We exposed SF to completely dark conditions and identified numerous altered traits at both the gene expression and phenotypic levels. Remarkably, most of these alterations mimicked CF phenotypes. Our results indicate that many cave-related traits can appear within a single generation by phenotypic plasticity. In the next generation, plasticity can be further refined. The initial plastic responses are random in adaptive outcome but may determine the subsequent course of evolution. Our study suggests that phenotypic plasticity contributes to the rapid evolution of cave-related traits in .
一个被广泛接受的洞穴动物进化模型假设，它们是由地表祖先殖民而来，然后经过许多代的适应进化而来。然而，一些物种的洞穴适应速度表明，这些机制在更短的时间内起作用。为了研究这些机制，我们使用了一个具有祖先表面形态（表型鱼类，SF）和衍生洞穴形态（洞穴鱼类，CF）的硬骨鱼作为研究对象。我们将 SF 暴露在完全黑暗的环境中，在基因表达和表型水平上都鉴定出了许多改变的特征。值得注意的是，这些改变中的大多数与 CF 的表型相似。我们的研究结果表明，许多与洞穴相关的特征可以在一个单一的世代中通过表型可塑性出现。在下一世代，可塑性可以进一步得到完善。最初的可塑性反应在适应结果上是随机的，但可能决定随后的进化过程。我们的研究表明，表型可塑性有助于 中与洞穴相关特征的快速进化。
