Current Search: Astyanax mexicanus (x)
View All Items
- Title
- ADAPTIVE EVOLUTION OF SLEEP LOSS AND ALBINISM THROUGH MUTATIONS IN OCA2 IN ASTYANAX MEXICANUS.
- Creator
- O'Gorman, Morgan, Keene, Alex, Florida Atlantic University, Department of Biological Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
- Abstract/Description
-
Adaptation to any environment through the course of its evolution involves the alteration of multiple traits to ensure survival, Astyanax mexicanus is a notable example of this. Some of the most notable differences between the surface and cave populations are loss of pigmentation, decreased sleep, and reduced eyes. 208 surface – cave F2 hybrids were assessed for several morphological and behavioral phenotypes. There were significant differences found between pigmented and albino individuals,...
Show moreAdaptation to any environment through the course of its evolution involves the alteration of multiple traits to ensure survival, Astyanax mexicanus is a notable example of this. Some of the most notable differences between the surface and cave populations are loss of pigmentation, decreased sleep, and reduced eyes. 208 surface – cave F2 hybrids were assessed for several morphological and behavioral phenotypes. There were significant differences found between pigmented and albino individuals, raising the question of a shared genetic basis for these traits. Oculocutaneous albinism 2 (oca2) is a notable contributor to albinism in many species, including A. mexicanus. Surface fish with CRISPR mutations at oca2 confirmed a contribution of oca2 in sleep loss within albino cavefish. Further, it was determined that oca2 is under selection and possibly has a pleiotropic function, which underlies the adaptive evolution of sleep loss and albinism.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2020
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013619
- Subject Headings
- Astyanax mexicanus, Astyanax mexicanus--Evolution, Oculocutaneous albinism type 2
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- NEUROANATOMICAL AND BEHAVIORAL CORRELATES OF REDUCED STRESS IN THE BLIND MEXICAN CAVEFISH, A. MEXICANUS.
- Creator
- Loomis, Cody Lee, Duboué, Erik, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
- Abstract/Description
-
Brain atlases have been created across species from flies to humans in order to obtain a better understanding of neuroanatomical morphology. Although these brain atlases allow for analysis of neuroanatomy they do not give insight about how the morphology adapt to fit challenges brought on by unique environments. Here I developed a brain atlas for Astyanax mexicanus, a species known to have populations that differ in various behaviors, to gain a better understanding about how populations of...
Show moreBrain atlases have been created across species from flies to humans in order to obtain a better understanding of neuroanatomical morphology. Although these brain atlases allow for analysis of neuroanatomy they do not give insight about how the morphology adapt to fit challenges brought on by unique environments. Here I developed a brain atlas for Astyanax mexicanus, a species known to have populations that differ in various behaviors, to gain a better understanding about how populations of the same species, derived from different environments, evolve to be best suited for the challenges they face. By creating a brain atlas for adult surface fish and three populations of cavefish I was able to examine differences in neuroanatomical structures implicated in regulating behavior. My findings show significant differences in neuroanatomical regions known to regulate behavior. Along with these findings, the brain atlases created are a tool for researches to use and expand on in the future.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2019
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013329
- Subject Headings
- Brain--Atlases, Neuroanatomy, Astyanax mexicanus
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- GENETIC AND NEUROANATOMICAL MECHANISMS OF EVOLUTIONARY SLEEP LOSS IN THE MEXICAN CAVEFISH, ASTYANAX MEXICANUS.
- Creator
- Jaggard, James B., Keene, Alex, Florida Atlantic University, Department of Biological Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
- Abstract/Description
-
Sleep is a complex behavioral state with ramifications on multiple levels of homeostasis including bodily function, neural activity, and molecular signaling. Sleep is conserved across evolution, though significant variations in sleep duration, architecture, and behavior are found across phyla. Decoding neural processing underlying behavior, including sleep, is a fundamental aim in neuroscience, and understanding how such behavior has evolved remains largely unknown. The encompassing goal of...
Show moreSleep is a complex behavioral state with ramifications on multiple levels of homeostasis including bodily function, neural activity, and molecular signaling. Sleep is conserved across evolution, though significant variations in sleep duration, architecture, and behavior are found across phyla. Decoding neural processing underlying behavior, including sleep, is a fundamental aim in neuroscience, and understanding how such behavior has evolved remains largely unknown. The encompassing goal of this dissertation is to elucidate the genetic and neuronal factors at play in the evolution of sleep loss in the blind Mexican tetra, Astyanax mexicanus. To this end, the work found within will explore peripheral sensory systems regulating distinct mechanisms of sleep loss, demonstrate how evolved changes in specific hypothalamic circuits drive sleep reductions, apply computational techniques to understand whole-brain evolution, and finally, will show how the generation of transgenic tools in a novel model system can be harnessed to assist functional experimental paradigms in relation to evolution and behavior.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2020
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013476
- Subject Headings
- Astyanax mexicanus, Astyanax mexicanus--Evolution, Sleep, Fishes--Behavior--Evolution, Fishes--Behavior--Genetic aspects
- Format
- Document (PDF)
- Title
- Evolved differences in interaction rules underlie the loss of social behaviors in the Mexican tetra.
- Creator
- Paz, Alexandra M., Duboué, Erik, Kowalko, Johanna E., Florida Atlantic University, Department of Biological Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
- Abstract/Description
-
Animals display a remarkable variety of social behaviors that are necessary for survival. Despite the importance of social behaviors, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the evolution of such behaviors are largely unknown. The Mexican tetra, Astyanax mexicanus, is a powerful model for studying how behaviors evolve, including social behavior. A. mexicanus exists as a schooling surface form and a non-schooling cave form. Here we have utilized this model in order to investigate how...
Show moreAnimals display a remarkable variety of social behaviors that are necessary for survival. Despite the importance of social behaviors, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the evolution of such behaviors are largely unknown. The Mexican tetra, Astyanax mexicanus, is a powerful model for studying how behaviors evolve, including social behavior. A. mexicanus exists as a schooling surface form and a non-schooling cave form. Here we have utilized this model in order to investigate how differences in the behavior of individuals result in differences at the level of emergent group social behaviors. We begin by reviewing how fish have contributed to the study of social behavior in Chapter 1, then continue to dissect differences in the schooling and shoaling behavior of adult surface and cave fish in Chapter 2, and finally address ontogenic differences that result in these differences in Chapter 3. All-in-all this, work reveals how evolution may act on the behavior of individuals to produce differences in relevant group behaviors.
Show less - Date Issued
- 2023
- PURL
- http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00014255
- Subject Headings
- Mexican tetra, Astyanax mexicanus, Social behavior in animals
- Format
- Document (PDF)