| 描述信息 |
Comprehending the adaptive evolution of brain function in extreme environments is a central question in evolutionary biology. In this study, we compared brain transcriptomes of sympatric cave-dwelling (Triplophysa shilinensis ) and surface-dwelling (Triplophysa xiangshuingensis ) loaches (n=5 per ecotype) to elucidate molecular mechanisms underlying cave adaptation. In this research, we opted to compare the transcriptomes of brain tissues from distinct ecotypes of plateau loach, namely the cave-dwelling T. shilinensis and the surface-dwelling T. xiangshuingensis, both inhabiting the same geographic region. This analysis yielded a comprehensive dataset consisting of 60.74 billion clean reads and identified a total of 101,725 Unigenes. The bioinformatics analysis revealed substantial disparities in gene expression patterns within the brain tissues of the two Triplophysa ecotypes. Specifically, a total of 27,194 genes exhibited significant differential expression, comprising 12,188 up-regulated genes and 15,006 down-regulated genes. Furthermore, within T. shilinensis, numerous differentially expressed genes associated with cave adaptation were identified. These included genes involved in insulin secretion and energy metabolism (GLUT1, IRS1, PRKCA/PKCα, ACSL), genes implicated in circadian rhythms and behavioral patterns (CRY, FBXL3, CLOCK, NPY2R), genes influencing body coloration (ADCY9, GNQA), genes crucial for visual development (RDH8, LRAT, CNGB1), and genes regulating olfactory sensation (OLFR, ADCY3, PKA, CAMK2). Notably, a majority of the differentially expressed genes were found to be down-regulated in cave-dwelling fish. The consistency of differential gene expression trends was corroborated through qRT-PCR experiments. These variations correlated with varying degrees of cave adaptation observed in the two Triplophysa species. The findings of this investigation furnish a critical scientific foundation for further exploring cave acclimatization mechanisms in Triplophysa. |
