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Cryptic Variation in Morphological Evolution: HSP90 as a Capacitor for Loss of Eyes in Cavefish

TLDR
In this article, heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) phenotypically masks standing eye-size variation in surface populations of the cavefish Astyanax mexicanus, resulting in reduced-eye phenotype even in the presence of full HSP90 activity.
Abstract
In the process of morphological evolution, the extent to which cryptic, preexisting variation provides a substrate for natural selection has been controversial. We provide evidence that heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) phenotypically masks standing eye-size variation in surface populations of the cavefish Astyanax mexicanus. This variation is exposed by HSP90 inhibition and can be selected for, ultimately yielding a reduced-eye phenotype even in the presence of full HSP90 activity. Raising surface fish under conditions found in caves taxes the HSP90 system, unmasking the same phenotypic variation as does direct inhibition of HSP90. These results suggest that cryptic variation played a role in the evolution of eye loss in cavefish and provide the first evidence for HSP90 as a capacitor for morphological evolution in a natural setting.

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Citations
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References
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Book

Canalization of development and the inheritance of acquired characters

TL;DR: It is suggested that recent views on the nature of the developmental process make it easier to understand how the genotypes of evolving organisms can respond to the environment in a more co-ordinated fashion.
Journal ArticleDOI

Hsp90 as a capacitor for morphological evolution

TL;DR: It is reported that when Drosophila Hsp90 is mutant or pharmacologically impaired, phenotypic variation affecting nearly any adult structure is produced, with specific variants depending on the genetic background and occurring both in laboratory strains and in wild populations.
Journal ArticleDOI

Widespread Parallel Evolution in Sticklebacks by Repeated Fixation of Ectodysplasin Alleles

TL;DR: The authors used positional cloning methods to identify the major chromosome locus controlling armor plate patterning in wild threespine sticklebacks and found that members of this clade of low-plated alleles are present at low frequencies in marine fish, which suggests that standing genetic variation can provide a molecular basis for rapid, parallel evolution of dramatic phenotypic change in nature.
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Hsp90 as a capacitor of phenotypic variation

TL;DR: It is reported that, in Arabidopsis accessions and recombinant inbred lines, reducing Hsp90 function produces an array of morphological phenotypes, which are dependent on underlying genetic variation, and that HSp90 influences morphogenetic responses to environmental cues and buffers normal development from destabilizing effects of stochastic processes.
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