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bioRxiv · 10.64898/2026.01.31.703033

Cave evolution on repeat: reuse of the same genomic regions across lineages but not across traits in Astyanax mexicanus

Richards, E. J.·Moran, R. L.·Wiese, J.·O'Gorman, M.·Hutton, P.·Rastogi, A.·North, O. W.·Manning, A. E.·Roback, E. Y.·Kowalko, J. E.·Rohner, N.·Keene, A. C.·McGaugh, S. E.
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Abstract

Similar traits repeatedly evolve across independent populations in response to similar environmental conditions. For many repeatedly evolved traits it is unknown if populations evolve similar traits through the same or different genetic mechanisms. To address this question, we leveraged the Mexican tetra fish, Astyanax mexicanus, which has evolved repeatedly through altering many traits including reduced sleep duration, eye degeneration, and metabolic shifts to accommodate limited nutrient availability. We defined whether shared or independent genetic architecture govern the repeated evolution of sleep loss, increased food consumption, early onset adipose deposition, and eye loss in different evolutionary origins of the cavefish phenotype by using Quantitative Trait Locus (QTL) mapping across three cave x surface F2 mapping populations. We found that, among the traits evaluated, eye loss exhibits the most genetic repeatability, with [~]43% of QTL shared across lineages. Sleep loss and metabolic traits (i.e., feeding, adiposity) were genetically less repeatable, with only [~]25-33% of QTL shared across lineages. Next, we explored whether QTL for metabolism, eye loss, and sleep traits in cavefish co-localize in the cavefish genome and could be inherited together to facilitate potential cavefish adaptation. Although these traits have repeatedly co-evolved in cave populations, we did not find evidence for extensive genetic linkage among them. Overall, we found that genetic repeatability is a common feature in the repeated evolution of cave traits, the extent of genetic repeatability varies across cave traits, and that there is little evidence for widespread co-localization of sleep, eye loss, and metabolic traits within the genome. SummaryIndependent populations that evolve similar traits in response to similar environmental conditions provide us with natural replicates for studying what constrains evolutionary change. Iconic examples of repeated trait evolution often involve repeated mutations in the same genes, suggesting there are limits on the type of genes and mutations that can contribute to phenotypic evolution. Here we conduct a multi-trait, multi-population QTL analysis for similar eye loss, sleep loss and metabolic shifts across two lineages of Astyanax mexicanus. Genetic repeatability is present for most traits, but its extent is highly trait dependent and occurs at the level of genomic regions rather than specific genes, highlighting the mosaic of constraint and flexibility involved in genetic repeatability.

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Richards, E. J., Moran, R. L., Wiese, J., O'Gorman, M., Hutton, P., Rastogi, A., North, O. W., Manning, A. E., Roback, E. Y., Kowalko, J. E., Rohner, N., Keene, A. C., McGaugh, S. E.. 2026-02-03. Cave evolution on repeat: reuse of the same genomic regions across lineages but not across traits in Astyanax mexicanus. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.01.31.703033

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