Dark world rises: The emergence of cavefish as a model for the study of evolution, development, behavior, and disease

McGaugh, Suzanne E.; Kowalko, Johanna E.; Duboué, Erik R.; Lewis, Peter; Franz‐Odendaal, Tamara A.; Rohner, Nicolas; Gross, Joshua B.; Keene, Alex C.

doi:10.1002/jez.b.22978

Cited by 40 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…and Poecillia mexicana]. By far, the most famous and studied among these is the cavefish Astyanax mexicanus (Jeffery, 2020;Keene et al, 2016;Torres-Paz et al, 2018), which has been kept in captivity for many generations (Wilkens, 1971) and is increasingly used and recognized as suitable for tackling problems beyond the typical subterranean biology realm (Maher, 2009;McGaugh et al, 2020).…”

Section: Model Org Anis Ms In Subterr Ane An B Iologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Collecting eco‐evolutionary data in the dark: Impediments to subterranean research and how to overcome them

Mammola

Lunghi

Bilandžija

et al. 2021

Ecology and Evolution

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Caves and other subterranean habitats fulfill the requirements of experimental model systems to address general questions in ecology and evolution. Yet, the harsh working conditions of these environments and the uniqueness of the subterranean organisms have challenged most attempts to pursuit standardized research. Two main obstacles have synergistically hampered previous attempts. First, there is a habitat impediment related to the objective difficulties of exploring subterranean habitats and our inability to access the network of fissures that represents the elective habitat for the so‐called “cave species.” Second, there is a biological impediment illustrated by the rarity of most subterranean species and their low physiological tolerance, often limiting sample size and complicating laboratory experiments. We explore the advantages and disadvantages of four general experimental setups ( in situ , quasi in situ , ex situ , and in silico ) in the light of habitat and biological impediments. We also discuss the potential of indirect approaches to research. Furthermore, using bibliometric data, we provide a quantitative overview of the model organisms that scientists have exploited in the study of subterranean life. Our over‐arching goal is to promote caves as model systems where one can perform standardized scientific research. This is important not only to achieve an in‐depth understanding of the functioning of subterranean ecosystems but also to fully exploit their long‐discussed potential in addressing general scientific questions with implications beyond the boundaries of this discipline.

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Section: Model Org Anis Ms In Subterr Ane An B Iologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Collecting eco‐evolutionary data in the dark: Impediments to subterranean research and how to overcome them

Mammola

Lunghi

Bilandžija

et al. 2021

Ecology and Evolution

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“…The functional imaging described here represents the first use of Genetically Encoded Ca 2+ Indicators to examine evolved differences in brain function in a vertebrate model. In addition to loss of vision, cavefish are widely used to study many different behaviors including enhanced lateral line function, sleep loss, prey capture, olfactory processing and stress (11,52,69). The application of whole-brain imaging approaches that have been developed in zebrafish to evolutionary models including A. mexicanus has the potential to identify neural mechanisms associated with evolved differences in these behaviors (70).…”

Section: Pa Gementioning

confidence: 99%

Blind cavefish retain functional connectivity in the tectum despite loss of retinal input

Lloyd

McDole

Privat

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Sensory systems display remarkable plasticity and are under strong evolutionary selection. The Mexican cavefish, Astyanax mexicanus, consists of eyed river-dwelling surface populations, and multiple independent cave populations which have converged on eye loss, providing the opportunity to examine the evolution of sensory circuits in response to environmental perturbation. Functional analysis across multiple transgenic populations expressing GCaMP6s showed the total activity and predicted functional connectivity of the optic tectum largely did not differ between populations, revealing the maintenance of neural connectivity in the absence of retinal inputs. The correlation between activity events in the tectum revealed the selective loss of negatively correlated activity in cavefish that are suggestive of differences in selective pressure on excitatory and inhibitory connections within the tectum. Further, analysis of surface-cave hybrid fish reveals that changes in the tectum are genetically distinct from those encoding eye-loss. Together, these findings uncover the independent evolution of multiple components of the visual system and establish the use of functional imaging in A. mexicanus to study neural circuit evolution.

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“…Only a few of these species satisfy the traditional requirement of a model-successful culturing in the lab and keeping long-standing laboratory breeds (e.g., Astyanax mexicanus, Asellus aquaticus, and Poecillia mexicana). The most famous and studied amongst these is by far the cavefish Astyanax mexicanus (Torres-Paz, Hyacinthe, Pierre, & Rétaux, 2018; Jeffery, 2020), which has been kept in captivity for many generations (Wilkens, 1971) and is increasingly used and recognized as suitable for tackling problems beyond the typical cave biology realm (Maher, 2009;McGaugh et al, 2020). Other models thrive in laboratory conditions, but are unable to complete their life cycle therein (e.g., Gammarus minus, Australian calcrete Dytiscidae, Proasellus spp.).…”

Section: Model Organisms In Subterranean Biologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Collecting eco-evolutionary data in the dark: Impediments to subterranean research and how to overcome them

Mammola¹,

Lunghi²,

Bilandžija³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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(1) Caves and other subterranean habitats fulfill the requirements of experimental model systems to address general questions in ecology and evolution. Yet, the harsh working conditions of these environments and the uniqueness of the subterranean organisms have challenged most attempts to pursuit standardized research(2) Two main obstacles have synergistically hampered previous attempts. First, there is a habitat impediment related to the objective difficulties of exploring subterranean habitats and our inability to access the network of fissures that represent the elective habitat for the so-called “cave species.” Second, there is a biological impediment illustrated by the rarity of most subterranean species and their low physiological tolerance, often limiting sample size and complicating lab experiments.(3) We explore the advantages and disadvantages of four general experimental setups (in-situ, quasi in-situ, ex-situ, and in-silico) in the light of habitat and biological impediments. We also discuss the potential of indirect approaches to research. Furthermore, using bibliometric data, we provide a quantitative overview of the model organisms that scientists have exploited in the study of subterranean life.(4) Our over-arching goal is to promote caves as model systems where one can perform standardised scientific research. This is important not only to achieve an in-depth understanding of the functioning of subterranean ecosystems but also to fully exploit their long-discussed potential in addressing general scientific questions with implications beyond the boundaries of this discipline.

show abstract

Dark world rises: The emergence of cavefish as a model for the study of evolution, development, behavior, and disease

Cited by 40 publications

References 75 publications

Collecting eco‐evolutionary data in the dark: Impediments to subterranean research and how to overcome them

Collecting eco‐evolutionary data in the dark: Impediments to subterranean research and how to overcome them

Blind cavefish retain functional connectivity in the tectum despite loss of retinal input

Collecting eco-evolutionary data in the dark: Impediments to subterranean research and how to overcome them

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