Early adipogenesis contributes to excess fat accumulation in cave populations of Astyanax mexicanus

Xiong, Shangkun; Krishnan, Jaya; Peuß, Robert; Rohner, Nicolas

doi:10.1016/j.ydbio.2018.06.003

Cited by 75 publications

(109 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…We found that Molino cavefish do not have yellow VAT and interestingly, they also do not accumulate fat early and have only moderately more fat than surface fish (Xiong et al, 2018). However, counter to the hypothesis that cavefish have increased lipid absorption, we found that Tinaja cavefish have lower expression of the lipid scavengers scarb1 and cd36 in the hindgut.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 85%

“…Carotenoids are absorbed and transported through the same pathways as dietary lipids. Tinaja and Pachón cavefish accumulate fat at earlier stages of development, and have more fat throughout their body as adults compared to surface fish (Aspiras et al, 2015;Hüppop, 2000;Xiong et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Of the three cave populations used in this study, those from the Tinaja and Pachón caves form a clade separate from Molino cavefish (Herman et al, 2018). The populations are interfertile and amenable to genetic manipulation (Stahl et al, 2019) allowing researchers to investigate the genetic changes associated with behavioral (Chin et al, 2018;Hyacinthe, Attia, & Rétaux, 2019;Lloyd et al, 2018;Yoshizawa et al, 2015) metabolic (Aspiras, Rohner, Martineau, Borowsky, & Tabin, 2015;Riddle, Aspiras, et al, 2018;Xiong, Krishnan, Peuß, & Rohner, 2018), and morphological (Gross & Powers, 2018;Lyon, Powers, Gross, & O'Quin, 2017) cave-adapted traits, and utilize the different cave populations as natural replicates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Genetic architecture underlying changes in carotenoid accumulation during the evolution of the Blind Mexican cavefish,Astyanax mexicanus

Riddle

Aspiras

Damen

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Research Highlights• Cavefish accumulate carotenoids in the visceral adipose tissue (VAT)• Genetic mapping reveals candidate genes associated with yellow VAT • Carotenoid accumulation is linked with decreased expression of carotenoidprocessing genes AbstractCarotenoids are yellow to orange pigments produced by plants, bacteria, and fungi. They are consumed by animals and metabolized to produce molecules essential for gene regulation, vision, and pigmentation. Cave animals represent an interesting opportunity to understand how carotenoid utilization evolves. Caves are devoid of light, eliminating primary production of energy through photosynthesis and therefore limiting carotenoid availability. Moreover, the selective pressures that favor carotenoid-based traits, like pigmentation and vision, are relaxed. Astyanax mexicanus is a species of fish with riveradapted (surface) and multiple cave-adapted populations (i.e. Tinaja, Pachón, Molino).Cavefish exhibit regressive features such as loss of eyes and melanin pigment, and constructive traits, like increased sensory neuromasts and starvation resistance. Here we show that unlike surface fish, Tinaja and Pachón cavefish accumulate carotenoids in the visceral adipose tissue (VAT). Carotenoid accumulation is not observed in Molino cavefish indicating that it is not an obligatory consequence of eye loss. We used quantitative trait loci mapping and RNA sequencing to investigate genetic changes associated with this trait.Our findings suggest that multiple stages of carotenoid processing may be altered in cavefish, including absorption and transport of lipids, cleavage of carotenoids into unpigmented molecules, and differential development of intestinal cell types involved in carotenoid assimilation. Our study establishes A. mexicanus as a model to study the genetic basis of natural variation in carotenoid accumulation and how it impacts physiology.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 85%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Genetic architecture underlying changes in carotenoid accumulation during the evolution of the Blind Mexican cavefish,Astyanax mexicanus

Riddle

Aspiras

Damen

et al. 2019

Preprint

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“…Although in the past the largest body of cavefish research has focused on morphological traits, such as the loss of eyes and body pigmentation, in response to the dark cave environment, 92,93 more recent studies have focused on metabolic adaptations. [94][95][96][97] Because caves are pitch black and devoid of photosynthetic primary producers, their inhabitants are largely dependent on energy sources originating from the outside of the cave. Caves are generally classified as nutrient-poor environments, because food availability is usually rare or seasonally limited.…”

Section: Cavefishmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sweet fish: Fish models for the study of hyperglycemia and diabetes

Krishnan

Rohner

2018

Journal of Diabetes

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Fish are good for your health in more ways than you may expect. For one, eating fish is a common dietary recommendation for a healthy diet. However, fish have much more to provide than omega-3 fatty acids to your circulatory system. Some fish species now serve as important and innovative model systems for diabetes research, providing novel and unique advantages compared with classical research models. Not surprisingly, the largest share of diabetes research in fish occurs in the laboratory workhorse among fish, the zebrafish (Danio rerio). Established as a genetic model system to study development, these small cyprinid fish have eventually conquered almost every scientific discipline and, over the past decade, have emerged as an important model system for metabolic diseases, including diabetes mellitus. In this review we highlight the practicability of using zebrafish to study diabetes and hyperglycemia, and summarize some of the recent research and breakthroughs made using this model. Equally exciting is the appearance of another emerging discipline, one that is taking advantage of evolution by studying cases of naturally occurring insulin resistance in fish species. We briefly discuss two such models in this review, namely the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and the cavefish (Astyanax mexicanus). Highlights• Different fish species are becoming increasingly attractive as models for the study of hyperglycemia and diabetes due to the ease of generating and maintaining large numbers of animals. • Some fish species exhibit unique physiological and evolutionary features that could be used to gain further insights into vertebrate glucose homeostasis and dysregulation.

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“…The Mexican tetra Astyanax mexicanus is a versatile model system, which is well suited for the study of the evolution of morphology, behavior, and physiology . The different ecologies of the river and cave habitats of this species have led to the evolution of river dwelling and cave adapted populations which differ in a large number of traits (Figure A,B).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stable transgenesis in Astyanax mexicanus using the Tol2 transposase system

Stahl

Peuß

McDole

et al. 2019

Developmental Dynamics

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Background Astyanax mexicanus is a well‐established fish model system for evolutionary and developmental biology research. These fish exist as surface forms that inhabit rivers and 30 different populations of cavefish. Despite important progress in the deployment of new technologies, deep mechanistic insights into the genetic basis of evolution, development, and behavior have been limited by a lack of transgenic lines commonly used in genetic model systems. Results Here, we expand the toolkit of transgenesis by characterizing two novel stable transgenic lines that were generated using the highly efficient Tol2 system, commonly used to generate transgenic zebrafish. A stable transgenic line consisting of the zebrafish ubiquitin promoter expresses enhanced green fluorescent protein ubiquitously throughout development in a surface population of Astyanax. To define specific cell‐types, a Cntnap2‐mCherry construct labels lateral line mechanosensory neurons in zebrafish. Strikingly, both constructs appear to label the predicted cell types, suggesting many genetic tools and defined promoter regions in zebrafish are directly transferrable to cavefish. Conclusion The lines provide proof‐of‐principle for the application of Tol2 transgenic technology in A. mexicanus. Expansion on these initial transgenic lines will provide a platform to address broadly important problems in the quest to bridge the genotype‐phenotype gap.

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Early adipogenesis contributes to excess fat accumulation in cave populations of Astyanax mexicanus

Cited by 75 publications

References 32 publications

Genetic architecture underlying changes in carotenoid accumulation during the evolution of the Blind Mexican cavefish,Astyanax mexicanus

Genetic architecture underlying changes in carotenoid accumulation during the evolution of the Blind Mexican cavefish,Astyanax mexicanus

Sweet fish: Fish models for the study of hyperglycemia and diabetes

Stable transgenesis in Astyanax mexicanus using the Tol2 transposase system

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