HEИндивидуална стипендия2023–2026

SalmoScales · Evolution and molecular mechanisms of adaptive organ allometry in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

„Хоризонт Европа“ — Действия „Мария Склодовска-Кюри“

Период: 2023-09-01 → 2026-08-31
Финансиране от ЕС: 293 675 €
Участници: 2
Схема: HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-GF

Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.

Накратко на български

Генетичните механизми за промяна в пропорциите на органита се изследват чрез сравнение между размера на яйчниците при джаджените и обикновените атлантически сьомги. Резултатитете помагат за подобряване на раздигателството в аквакултурите и разбирането на процесите по растеж и развитие в медицината.

Този кратък обзор е генериран от изкуствен интелект

Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.

Резултати накратко

Evolution and molecular mechanisms of adaptive organ allometry in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

Differences in body proportions for a similar body plan are responsible for much of species diversity, famously referred to as "endless forms most beautiful" by Darwin. Within a particular species, however, the proportions of body parts and organs typically remain constant. This guarantees a functional body; variation in organ proportions can be signs of developmental conditions or disease such as cancer. To better understand the cellular and genetic processes giving rise to differences in proportions (termed allometry), the SalmoScales project studied a case of allometry in ovary size following freshwater adaptation in Atlantic salmon. Landlocked salmon on the island of Newfoundland, Canada, have adapted to resource-limited streams by evolving into dwarfs; they become sexually mature at extremely young age for a salmon, and as small as 10cm in length. Dwarfism in salmon is accompanied by atypical ovarian development where the ovaries of dwarfs are half the size of anadromous salmon, providing for a unique natural system where the mechanisms encoding for allometry can be studied in the context of alternative life-histories. By using latest genomics technologies, the aim in this project is to yield novel insight into the molecular machinery that establishes differences in organ proportions and how conserved they are between species. The results can guide, for example, novel breeding methods in aquaculture and inform medical research about the mechanisms that coordinate growth and differentiation.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз

Цел на проекта

Species radiations can be driven by changes in body proportions (allometric changes), that is, natural selection acting on size and not in shape. Discovering the genetic and developmental basis of allometry has both fundamental importance for understanding the emergence of biological diversity, as well as in practical terms such as in understanding cancers. Only a few allometry mechanisms are known to explain adaptive differences in organ size within a vertebrate species. The SalmoScales project will fill this knowledge gap by discovering the molecular, developmental, and evolutionary mechanisms that give rise to allometry of reproductive organs in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Salmon show a fascinating adaptation of organ allometry associated with a trade-off in life history strategies; dwarf landlocked ecotypes prioritize egg size over egg number, and in consequence have ovaries that are 50% smaller compared to their sea-migrating congeners. The decreased ovary size in dwarf salmon provides a unique model to study how allometry emerges within a single species and interplays with life history strategy. Salmon reproductive development is governed by transcriptional regulators that include the genes vgll3 and six6. These genes are top candidates for mediating ovary allometry as my preliminary results suggest that vgll3 interacts with Hippo signaling pathway mediating organ size, as well as transcription factors controlling for germ cell development in salmon gonads. I will dissect the genotype-phenotype-fitness map of ovary allometry from the molecular to the species level with an integrative approach combining cellular genomics, gene editing, and a powerful quantitative genetics framework. The results will have applied significance in aquaculture to inform precision breeding for egg, brood and maturation characteristics, as well as in the medical field, where revealing the mechanisms that coordinate ovary growth and size are important to understand ovarian cancers.

Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).

Участници

HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO · HelsinkiКоординаторФинландия
CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY · MontrealКанада