Schalm Gregor, Kaefer Simon, Krämer Philipp, Jäger Anna-Lena, Kingsford Michael J, Gerlach Gabriele
Research Group of Animal Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology Carl-von-Ossietzky-University of Oldenburg Oldenburg Germany.
Marine Biology and Aquaculture College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University Townsville Australia.
Ecol Evol. 2025 Apr 25;15(4):e71259. doi: 10.1002/ece3.71259. eCollection 2025 Apr.
Immediately after hatching, larvae of coral reef fish leave their natal reef environment and begin their pelagic larval phase probably to avoid high predation on the reef. The time they spend in the open ocean (pelagic larval duration, PLD), before settlement varies from species to species and depends partly on developmental processes that eventually require re-settlement to a reef. The polyglutamine region (PolyQ) as part of the clock gene has been suggested as a possible candidate that could control developmental processes and potentially the time until settlement, which can be determined by counting the rings of the otoliths. We studied the potential relationship between the number of glutamine repeats in 20 species of pomacentrids and their PLDs. Most pomacentrids came from similar locations, so we avoided the impact of latitudinal clines on PLD. Within the gene, we found two main distinguishable, variable glutamine-rich regions (PolyQ and Qrich). Considering phylogenetic relationships, PolyQ/Qrich repeat length and pelagic larval duration were significantly positively correlated. However, when analyzing this relationship in a single species, the neon damselfish (), we did not find a significant correlation between PolyQ length variation and PLD. Instead, we found a significant reduction of PLD in years with increased habitat availability. Our results show that glutamine-rich regions can influence the timing of settlement on a broader scale, but that ecological factors-such as habitat availability-can also have a significant impact.
珊瑚礁鱼类幼体孵化后，会立即离开其出生地的珊瑚礁环境，开始浮游幼体阶段，这可能是为了避免在珊瑚礁上遭受高捕食风险。它们在开阔海洋中度过的时间（浮游幼体持续时间，PLD），即定居前的时间，因物种而异，部分取决于最终需要重新定居到珊瑚礁的发育过程。作为生物钟基因一部分的聚谷氨酰胺区域（PolyQ）被认为是一个可能的候选因素，它可以控制发育过程，并可能影响直到定居的时间，而定居时间可以通过计算耳石的年轮来确定。我们研究了20种雀鲷科鱼类的谷氨酰胺重复次数与其PLD之间的潜在关系。大多数雀鲷科鱼类来自相似的地点，因此我们避免了纬度梯度对PLD的影响。在该基因内，我们发现了两个主要可区分的、可变的富含谷氨酰胺的区域（PolyQ和Qrich）。考虑到系统发育关系，PolyQ/Qrich重复长度与浮游幼体持续时间呈显著正相关。然而，当在单一物种霓虹雀鲷中分析这种关系时，我们没有发现PolyQ长度变化与PLD之间存在显著相关性。相反，我们发现随着栖息地可利用性增加，PLD在年份上显著缩短。我们的结果表明，富含谷氨酰胺的区域可以在更广泛的范围内影响定居时间，但生态因素，如栖息地可利用性，也可能产生重大影响。
