Data from: Shaping development through mechanical strain: the transcriptional basis of diet-induced phenotypic plasticity in a cichlid fish

Adaptive phenotypic plasticity, the ability of an organism to change its
phenotype to match local environments, is increasingly recognized for its
contribution to evolution. However, few empirical studies have explored
the molecular basis of plastic traits. The East African cichlid fish
Astatoreochromis alluaudi displays adaptive phenotypic plasticity in its
pharyngeal jaw apparatus, a structure that is widely seen as an
evolutionary key innovation that has contributed to the remarkable
diversity of cichlid fishes. It has previously been shown that in response
to different diets, the pharyngeal jaws change their size, shape and
dentition: hard diets induce an adaptive robust molariform tooth phenotype
with short jaws and strong internal bone structures, while soft diets
induce a gracile papilliform tooth phenotype with elongated jaws and
slender internal bone structures. To gain insight into the molecular
underpinnings of these adaptations and enable future investigations of the
role that phenotypic plasticity plays during the formation of adaptive
radiations, the transcriptomes of the two divergent jaw phenotypes were
examined. Our study identified a total of 187 genes whose expression
differs in response to hard and soft diets, including immediate early
genes, extracellular matrix genes and inflammatory factors. Transcriptome
results are interpreted in light of expression of candidate genes—markers
for tooth size and shape, bone cells and mechanically sensitive pathways.
This study opens up new avenues of research at new levels of biological
organization into the roles of phenotypic plasticity during speciation and
radiation of cichlid fishes.