Transcriptome analysis of Phreatobius cisternarum

In fish, alterations in the stages of ocular development, cause a change in which the eyes show duplication of the ocular structures (Schwab et al., 2001) or induce ocular degeneration (Krishnan, Rohner, 2017; Stemmer et al., 2015). It is necessary researches using a variety of cavefish models to understand whether independent evolutionary lineages utilize related molecular genetic mechanisms or whether evolution can achieve similar results by different mechanisms (Meng et al., 2013). Therefore, the objective of this project is to study Phreatobius cisternarum, because there is not much information about its biology, distribution, ecology, and physiology, due to its hypogeous behavior (Muriel-Cunha; de Pinna, 2005; Ohara; da Costa, Fonseca, 2016).