Evolution of pigment cell regression in the cavefish Astyanax: a late step in melanogenesis

Evolution & Development
David W McCauleyWilliam R Jeffery

Abstract

Pigmentation and eyes are often lost in cave-adapted animals. Although the mechanisms of eye degeneration are beginning to be understood, little is known about the evolutionary and developmental processes involved in pigment cell regression. In teleost embryos, a population of neural crest cells migrates into the body wall and differentiates into melanophores, xanthophores, and iridophores. All three pigment cell types are present in the eyed surface-dwelling form (surface fish) of the teleost Astyanax mexicanus. However, melanophores are absent or substantially reduced in number in various derived populations of the conspecific blind cave-dwelling form (cavefish). We show here that tyrosinase-positive melanoblasts are present in cavefish. DiI labeling revealed a population of trunk neural crest cells in cavefish embryos that migrate to locations normally occupied by differentiated melanophores. We also discovered a cell population in cavefish embryos and adults resembling melanoblasts in several features, including the ability to synthesize melanin when supplied with the tyrosinase substrate l-dopa. DiI-tyrosinase double-labeling and neural keel explant experiments showed that the tyrosinase-positive cells are derived from the...Continue Reading

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Citations

Apr 25, 2013·Molecular Biology and Evolution·Fanwei MengJohn H Postlethwait
Jul 31, 2009·Annual Review of Genetics·William R Jeffery
Nov 17, 2011·PloS One·Rüdiger RieschMartin Plath
May 8, 2008·Evolution & Development·William R Jeffery
Jan 18, 2006·Evolution & Development·Tamara A Franz-Odendaal, Brian K Hall
Jan 18, 2006·Evolution & Development·Luis Espinasa, William R Jeffery
Apr 13, 2013·Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews. Developmental Biology·Meredith Protas, William R Jeffery
Sep 29, 2012·Evolution & Development·Helena BilandžijaWilliam R Jeffery
May 3, 2015·Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology·João C R CardosoDeborah M Power
May 3, 2018·Integrative and Comparative Biology·Masato YoshizawaWilliam R Jeffery
Dec 12, 2018·The Anatomical Record : Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology·Daphne Soares, Matthew L Niemiller
Aug 2, 2020·The Journal of Experimental Biology·Constance PierreSylvie Rétaux
May 4, 2018·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·Helena BilandžijaWilliam R Jeffery
Jul 18, 2020·EvoDevo·William R Jeffery
Jan 14, 2020·Journal of Experimental Zoology. Part B, Molecular and Developmental Evolution·Li MaWilliam R Jeffery

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