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- Title
Nile Tilapia: A Model for Studying Teleost Color Patterns.
- Authors
Wang, Chenxu; Lu, Baoyue; Li, Tao; Liang, Guangyuan; Xu, Mengmeng; Liu, Xingyong; Tao, Wenjing; Zhou, Linyan; Kocher, Thomas D; Wang, Deshou
- Abstract
The diverse color patterns of cichlid fishes play an important role in mate choice and speciation. Here we develop the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) as a model system for studying the developmental genetics of cichlid color patterns. We identified 4 types of pigment cells: melanophores, xanthophores, iridophores and erythrophores, and characterized their first appearance in wild-type fish. We mutated 25 genes involved in melanogenesis, pteridine metabolism, and the carotenoid absorption and cleavage pathways. Among the 25 mutated genes, 13 genes had a phenotype in both the F0 and F2 generations. None of F1 heterozygotes had phenotype. By comparing the color pattern of our mutants with that of red tilapia (Oreochromis spp), a natural mutant produced during hybridization of tilapia species, we found that the pigmentation of the body and eye is controlled by different genes. Previously studied genes like mitf , kita/kitlga , pmel , tyrb , hps4 , gch2 , csf1ra , pax7b, and bco2b were proved to be of great significance for color patterning in tilapia. Our results suggested that tilapia, a fish with 4 types of pigment cells and a vertically barred wild-type color pattern, together with various natural and artificially induced color gene mutants, can serve as an excellent model system for study color patterning in vertebrates.
- Subjects
TILAPIA; NILE tilapia; DEVELOPMENTAL genetics; CICHLIDS; CHROMATOPHORES; PHENOTYPES; EYE color; SPECIES hybridization
- Publication
Journal of Heredity, 2021, Vol 112, Issue 5, p469
- ISSN
0022-1503
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/jhered/esab018