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Microinjection for Transgenesis and Genome Editing in Threespine Sticklebacks
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Brain differences in ecologically differentiated sticklebacks.

Jason Keagy1,2,3, Victoria A Braithwaite4,5,6, Janette W Boughman2,3,7

  • 1Department of Animal Biology, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL 61801, USA.

Current Zoology
|November 8, 2018
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Ecological pressures rapidly shape brain evolution in threespine stickleback fish. Vision-reliant fish evolved larger optic tecta, while smell-reliant fish developed larger olfactory bulbs, demonstrating adaptive neurobiology.

Keywords:
brain evolutiondivergent selectionmagnetic resonance imagingolfactory bulboptic tectumthreespine stickleback

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Neuroscience
  • Ecology

Background:

  • Recently diverged populations provide insights into evolutionary processes.
  • Ecological differences drive divergent selection on various traits, including neurobiology.
  • Environmental factors influence sensory information processing, potentially impacting brain structures.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if ecological differences lead to divergent selection on sensory processing brain regions in recently evolved threespine stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus).
  • To examine the relationship between ecological niches and the relative sizes of olfactory bulbs and optic tecta.
  • To assess the impact of hybridization and anthropogenic disturbance on these neuroanatomical differences.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to obtain volumetric data of brain regions.
  • Compared olfactory bulbs and optic tecta volumes relative to total brain size.
  • Studied reproductively isolated species pairs of threespine stickleback fish from different ecological habitats.

Main Results:

  • Found a strong correlation between fish ecology and the relative sizes of olfactory bulbs and optic tecta.
  • Limnetic sticklebacks (vision-reliant) had larger optic tecta and smaller olfactory bulbs compared to benthic sticklebacks (olfaction-reliant).
  • Benthic sticklebacks exhibited larger total brain volumes relative to body size than limnetic sticklebacks.
  • These distinct brain size differences were absent in a hybridized, collapsed species pair.

Conclusions:

  • Sensory processing brain regions in threespine stickleback fish rapidly evolve in response to ecological divergence.
  • Neuroanatomical adaptations in olfactory and visual processing centers occur independently and quickly.
  • Anthropogenic disturbance and hybridization can erode these ecologically driven evolutionary changes.