Biology subjects

Bloch, N. I.

Publications and source records attributed to Bloch, N. I..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

Functional convergence of genomic and transcriptomic genetic architecture underlying sociability in a live-bearing fish

The organization and coordination of fish schools provide a valuable model to investigate the genetic architecture of affiliative behaviors and dissect the mechanisms underlying social behaviors and personalities. We used quantitative genetic methods in replicate guppy selection lines that vary in schooling propensity to investigate the genetic basis of sociability phenotypes. Alignment and attraction, the two major traits forming the sociability personality axis in this species, showed heritability estimates at the upper end of the range previously described for social behaviors, with important variation across sexes. Consistent with findings in collective motion patterns, experimental evolution of schooling propensity increases the sociability of female, but not male, guppies when swimming with unfamiliar conspecifics, a highly relevant trait in a species with fission-fusion social systems in natural populations. Our results from PoolSeq and RNASeq convergently identify genes involved in neuron migration and synaptic function, highlighting a crucial role of glutamatergic synaptic function and calcium-dependent signaling processes in the evolution of schooling.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2019

Extreme heterogeneity in sex chromosome differentiation and dosage compensation in livebearers

Once recombination is halted between the X and Y chromosome, sex chromosomes begin to differentiate and transition to heteromorphism. While there is a remarkable variation across clades in the degree of sex chromosome divergence, far less is known about variation in sex chromosome differentiation within clades. Here, we combined whole genome and transcriptome sequencing data to characterise the structure and conservation of sex chromosome systems across Poeciliidae, the livebearing clade that includes guppies. We found that the Poecilia reticulata XY system is much older than previously thought, being shared not only with its sister species, Poecilia wingei, but also with Poecilia picta, which diverged 30 mya. Despite the shared ancestry, we uncovered an extreme heterogeneity across these species in the proportion of the sex chromosome with suppressed recombination, and the degree of Y chromosome decay. The sex chromosomes in P. reticulata are largely homomorphic, with recombination persisting over a substantial fraction. However, the sex chromosomes in P. picta are completely non-recombining and strikingly heteromorphic. ln addition to being highly divergent, the sex chromosome system in P. picta includes a neo-sex chromosome, the result of a fusion between the ancestral sex chromosome and part of chromosome 7. Remarkably, the profound degradation of the ancestral Y chromosome in P. picta is counterbalanced by the evolution of complete dosage compensation in this species, the first such documented case in teleost fish. Our results offer important insight into the initial stages of sex chromosome evolution and dosage compensation.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2017

Sex-biased gene expression resolves sexual conflict through the evolution of sex-specific genetic architecture

Many genes are subject to contradictory selection pressures in males and females, and balancing selection resulting from sexual conflict has the potential to substantially increase standing genetic diversity in populations and thereby act as an important force in adaptation. However, the underlying causes of sexual conflict, and the potential for resolution, remains hotly debated. Using transcriptome resequencing data from male and female guppies, we use a novel approach, combining patterns of genetic diversity and inter-sexual divergence in allele frequency, to distinguish the different scenarios that give rise to sexual conflict, and how this conflict may be resolved through regulatory evolution. We show that reproductive fitness is the main source of sexual conflict, and this is resolved via the evolution of male-biased expression. Furthermore, resolution of sexual conflict produces significant differences in genetic architecture between males and females, which in turn leads to specific alleles influencing sex-specific viability. Together, our findings suggest an important role for sexual conflict in shaping broad patterns of genome diversity, and show that regulatory evolution is a rapid and efficient route to the resolution of conflict.

evolutionary biology↗