PUBLICATION

Pigment pattern morphospace of Danio fishes: evolutionary diversification and mutational effects

Authors
McCluskey, B.M., Liang, Y., Lewis, V.M., Patterson, L.B., Parichy, D.M.
ID
ZDB-PUB-210901-7
Date
2021
Source
Biology Open   10(9): (Journal)
Registered Authors
Parichy, David M.
Keywords
Danio, Development and evolution, Iridophore, Melanophore, Morphospace, Pigment pattern, Xanthophore, Zebrafish
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Biological Evolution
  • Embryo, Nonmammalian
  • Embryonic Development/genetics*
  • Metamorphosis, Biological/genetics*
  • Mutation
  • Neural Crest/embryology*
  • Phenotype
  • Pigmentation/genetics*
  • Zebrafish/embryology*
PubMed
34463758 Full text @ Biol. Open
Abstract
Molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying variation in adult form remain largely unknown. Adult pigment patterns of fishes in the genus Danio, which includes zebrafish, D. rerio, consist of horizontal stripes, vertical bars, spots and uniform patterns, and provide an outstanding opportunity to identify causes of species level variation in a neural crest derived trait. Understanding pigment pattern variation requires quantitative approaches to assess phenotypes, yet such methods have been mostly lacking for pigment patterns. We introduce metrics derived from information theory that describe patterns and pattern variation in Danio fishes. We find that these metrics used singly and in multivariate combinations are suitable for distinguishing general pattern types, and can reveal even subtle phenotypic differences attributable to mutations. Our study provides new tools for analyzing pigment pattern in Danio and potentially other groups, and sets the stage for future analyses of pattern morphospace and its mechanistic underpinnings.
Genes / Markers
Figures
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Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Antibodies
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping