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Types of Selection

Types of Selection

Natural selection influences the frequencies of particular alleles and phenotypes within populations in several different ways. Primarily, natural selection can be directional, stabilizing, or disruptive. Directional selection favors one extreme trait and shifts the population towards that phenotype while selecting against individuals displaying alternate traits. Stabilizing selection favors an intermediate trait with a narrow range of variation. Deviation from the optimal phenotype towards an...

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Genome Editing in Astyanax mexicanus Using Transcription Activator-like Effector Nucleases TALENs

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Stabilizing selection in an identified multisensory neuron in blind cavefish.

Mercedes Hildebrandt¹, Mona Kotewitsch¹, Sabrina Kaupp¹

¹Department of Animal Physiology, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth 95440, Germany.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

|November 18, 2024

Summary

Evolutionary pressures of cave life did not alter the Mauthner neuron (MN) in Mexican tetras. This giant neuron, crucial for escape, maintained its morphology and function, suggesting complex stabilizing selection.

Keywords:

brain evolution cavefish environmental change neuronal cell type single neuron evolution

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Evolutionary Biology
Comparative Anatomy

Background:

The Mauthner neuron (MN) is a giant, identified neuron critical for rapid escape responses in vertebrates.
Cave environments present unique selective pressures, such as the absence of predators and light, potentially influencing neuronal evolution.
The Mexican tetra (Astyanax mexicanus) offers a model system with distinct cave and surface-dwelling populations.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the impact of cave adaptation on the morphology and function of the Mauthner neuron (MN) in Astyanax mexicanus.
To compare the MN in blind cavefish with its counterpart in sighted surface-dwelling relatives.
To explore the role of stabilizing selection in maintaining neuronal structure and function under altered environmental conditions.

Main Methods:

In vivo electrophysiological recordings from the Mauthner neuron (MN) in blind cavefish and surface-dwelling tetras.
Morphological analysis of the Mauthner neuron (MN) across different populations.
Comparative analysis of functional properties and variability between cave and surface forms.

Main Results:

Contrary to predictions, cave adaptation did not significantly alter the morphology or functional properties of the Mauthner neuron (MN), including its ventral dendrite.
The absence of visual input in cavefish did not lead to a reduction in the ventral dendrite of the MN.
Variability in MN morphology and function remained consistent between cave and surface populations, indicating stabilizing selection.

Conclusions:

Cave life in Astyanax mexicanus does not drive the predicted reduction in the Mauthner neuron (MN) or its visual-receiving dendrite.
Stabilizing selection appears to maintain the structure and function of the MN, even in the absence of predation and vision.
The Mauthner neuron (MN) may retain a role in predation and escape behaviors in both cave and surface environments, contributing to its conserved nature.