ArticlePloS one2013
A potential benefit of albinism in Astyanax cavefish: downregulation of the oca2 gene increases tyrosine and catecholamine levels as an alternative to melanin synthesis.
Article in PloS one, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 71 papers.
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Who cites it
71 citing papers in PubMed, 152 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exploring Astyanax mexicanus as a model for unraveling genotype-environment interactions and metabolic adaptations.Lab animal · 2026Review
- A pangenome framework uncovers the role of deletions in repeated evolution of cave-derived traits.Genome research · 2026Article
- A Recessive oca2 Mutation Underlies Albinism in Xiphophorus Fish.Pigment cell & melanoma research · 2026Article
- De novo transcriptome assembly of a pigmentation-variable population of cave snail Physella sp.Scientific data · 2026Article
- Correlation between DNA methylation and transcriptomic changes in golden Asian sea bass (Lates calcarifer): An integrated approach.Journal of fish biology · 2026Article
- Evolution of a central dopamine circuit underlies adaptation of a light-evoked sensorimotor response in the blind cavefish.Science advances · 2026Article
- Analysis of multi-trait evolution across independently evolved cavefish populations reveals shared and independent evolution of suites of traits.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2026Article
- Convergent evolution of albinism in cave animals is driven by shared mechanisms and adaptive advantages.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Enhanced multisensory integration in the olfactory bulb of the Mexican cavefish.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Analysis of multi-trait evolution across independently evolved cavefish populations reveals shared and independent evolution of suites of cave-associated traits.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Chemosensory adaptations inBiology letters · 2025Article
- Comparative Embryology and Transcriptomics of Asellus infernus, an Isopod Crustacean From Sulfidic Groundwater.Evolution & development · 2025Article
- Mutations in the albinism gene oca2 alter vision-dependent prey capture behavior in the Mexican tetra.The Journal of experimental biology · 2025Article
- Postprandial Sleep in Short-Sleeping Mexican Cavefish.Journal of experimental zoology. Part A, Ecological and integrative physiology · 2024Article
- Aridification and major geotectonic landscape change shaped an extraordinary species radiation across a world's extreme elevational gradient.Communications biology · 2024Article
- Genetic bias in repeated evolution of pigment loss in cave populations of the Asellus aquaticus species complex.Journal of experimental zoology. Part B, Molecular and developmental evolution · 2024Article
- The effect of parasitism on boldness and sheltering behaviour in albino and pigmented European catfish (Silurus glanis).Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Evolution of a central dopamine circuit underlies adaptation of light-evoked sensorimotor response in the blind cavefish,bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Postprandial sleep in short-sleeping Mexican cavefish.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Mutations in the albinism genebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
11 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Albinism, the loss of melanin pigmentation, has evolved in a diverse variety of cave animals but the responsible evolutionary mechanisms are unknown. In Astyanax mexicanus, which has a pigmented surface dwelling form (surface fish) and several albino cave-dwelling forms (cavefish), albinism is caused by loss of function mutations in the oca2 gene, which operates during the first step of the melanin synthesis pathway. In addition to albinism, cavefish have evolved differences in behavior, including feeding and sleep, which are under the control of the catecholamine system. The catecholamine and melanin synthesis pathways diverge after beginning with the same substrate, L-tyrosine. Here we describe a novel relationship between the catecholamine and melanin synthesis pathways in Astyanax. Our results show significant increases in L-tyrosine, dopamine, and norepinephrine in pre-feeding larvae and adult brains of Pachón cavefish relative to surface fish. In addition, norepinephrine is elevated in cavefish adult kidneys, which contain the teleost homologs of catecholamine synthesizing adrenal cells. We further show that the oca2 gene is expressed during surface fish development but is downregulated in cavefish embryos. A key finding is that knockdown of oca2 expression in surface fish embryos delays the development of pigmented melanophores and simultaneously increases L-tyrosine and dopamine. We conclude that a potential evolutionary benefit of albinism in Astyanax cavefish may be to provide surplus L-tyrosine as a precursor for the elevated catecholamine synthesis pathway, which could be important for adaptation to the challenging cave environment.
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