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Mapping epigenetic divergence in the massive radiation of Lake Malawi cichlid fishes.
Vernaz, Grégoire; Malinsky, Milan; Svardal, Hannes; Du, Mingliu; Tyers, Alexandra M; Santos, M Emília; Durbin, Richard; Genner, Martin J; Turner, George F; Miska, Eric A.
Affiliation
  • Vernaz G; Wellcome/CRUK Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. gv268@cam.ac.uk.
  • Malinsky M; Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. gv268@cam.ac.uk.
  • Svardal H; Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK. gv268@cam.ac.uk.
  • Du M; Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK.
  • Tyers AM; Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
  • Santos ME; Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK.
  • Durbin R; Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
  • Genner MJ; Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
  • Turner GF; Wellcome/CRUK Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
  • Miska EA; Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Nat Commun ; 12(1): 5870, 2021 10 07.
Article in En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34620871
Epigenetic variation modulates gene expression and can be heritable. However, knowledge of the contribution of epigenetic divergence to adaptive diversification in nature remains limited. The massive evolutionary radiation of Lake Malawi cichlid fishes displaying extensive phenotypic diversity despite extremely low sequence divergence is an excellent system to study the epigenomic contribution to adaptation. Here, we present a comparative genome-wide methylome and transcriptome study, focussing on liver and muscle tissues in phenotypically divergent cichlid species. In both tissues we find substantial methylome divergence among species. Differentially methylated regions (DMR), enriched in evolutionary young transposons, are associated with transcription changes of ecologically-relevant genes related to energy expenditure and lipid metabolism, pointing to a link between dietary ecology and methylome divergence. Unexpectedly, half of all species-specific DMRs are shared across tissues and are enriched in developmental genes, likely reflecting distinct epigenetic developmental programmes. Our study reveals substantial methylome divergence in closely-related cichlid fishes and represents a resource to study the role of epigenetics in species diversification.
Subject(s)

Full text: 1 Collection: 01-internacional Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Chromosome Mapping / Evolution, Molecular / Cichlids / Epigenesis, Genetic Limits: Animals Country/Region as subject: Africa Language: En Journal: Nat Commun Journal subject: BIOLOGIA / CIENCIA Year: 2021 Document type: Article Country of publication:

Full text: 1 Collection: 01-internacional Database: MEDLINE Main subject: Chromosome Mapping / Evolution, Molecular / Cichlids / Epigenesis, Genetic Limits: Animals Country/Region as subject: Africa Language: En Journal: Nat Commun Journal subject: BIOLOGIA / CIENCIA Year: 2021 Document type: Article Country of publication: