ArticleNature ecology & evolution2018
An epigenetic mechanism for cavefish eye degeneration.
Article in Nature ecology & evolution, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 58 papers.
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58 citing papers in PubMed, 112 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
- Subterranean environments contribute to three-quarters of classified ecosystem services.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2026Review
- Novel mechanisms of chemosensory adaptation to the cave environment.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Cave evolution on repeat: reuse of the same genomic regions across lineages but not across traits inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- CRISPR screening reveals genetic regulators associated with the evolution of eye degeneration.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- From Genomic Fossils to Functional Elements: The Evolving Story of Pseudogenes.Advanced genetics (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2025Review
- Loss of Conserved Noncoding Elements Likely Shaped the Evolution of Regressed Phenotypes in Cavefish.Genome biology and evolution · 2025Article
- Convergent Evolution and the Epigenome.Epigenomes · 2025Review
- HSP90 as an evolutionary capacitor drives adaptive eye size reduction via atonal.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Convergent Evolution in Amblyopsid Cavefishes and the Age of Eastern North American Subterranean Ecosystems.Molecular biology and evolution · 2025Article
- Parallel sensory compensation following independent subterranean colonization by groundwater salamanders (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- High total water loss driven by low-fat diet in desert-adapted mice.Journal of mammalogy · 2025Article
- Differentially expressed miRNAs offer new perspective into cave adaptation of Astyanax mexicanus.Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2025Article
- Quantitative trait loci concentrate in specific regions of the Mexican cavefish genome and reveal key candidate genes for cave-associated evolution.The Journal of heredity · 2025Article
- Defining bovine CpG epigenetic diversity by analyzing RRBS data from sperm of Montbéliarde and Holstein bulls.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2025Article
- Regulatory and evolutionary impact of DNA methylation in two songbird species and their naturally occurring FBMC biology · 2024Article
- Loci associated with cave-derived traits concentrate in specific regions of the Mexican cavefish genome.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Mixed Patterns of Intergenerational DNA Methylation Inheritance in Acropora.Molecular biology and evolution · 2024Article
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9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
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Abstract
Coding and non-coding mutations in DNA contribute significantly to phenotypic variability during evolution. However, less is known about the role of epigenetics in this process. Although previous studies have identified eye development genes associated with the loss-of-eyes phenotype in the Pachón blind cave morph of the Mexican tetra Astyanax mexicanus, no inactivating mutations have been found in any of these genes. Here, we show that excess DNA methylation-based epigenetic silencing promotes eye degeneration in blind cave A. mexicanus. By performing parallel analyses in A. mexicanus cave and surface morphs, and in the zebrafish Danio rerio, we have discovered that DNA methylation mediates eye-specific gene repression and globally regulates early eye development. The most significantly hypermethylated and downregulated genes in the cave morph are also linked to human eye disorders, suggesting that the function of these genes is conserved across vertebrates. Our results show that changes in DNA methylation-based gene repression can serve as an important molecular mechanism generating phenotypic diversity during development and evolution.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.