Ancient developmental genes underlie evolutionary novelties in walking fish

A question in biology is how new traits evolve, but studying this in wild animals remains challenging. In this project, we probe the genetic basis of trait gain in sea robin fish, which have evolved specialized leg-like appendages for locomotion and digging along the ocean floor. We perform transcriptomic analysis in two sea robin species, Prionotus carolinus and Prionotus evolans, as well as in hybrid animals. We also generate genome assemblies for both species. This study establishes sea robins as a model organism for studying the evolution of trait gain.