Adult plasticity in African Cichlids: rapid changes in opsin expression in response to environmental light differences

Phenotypic plasticity allows organisms to adapt quickly to local environmental conditions and could facilitate adaptive radiations. Cichlids have recently undergone an adaptive radiation in Lake Malawi where they inhabit diverse light environments and tune their visual sensitivity through differences in cone opsin expression. While cichlid opsin expression is known to be plastic over development, whether adults remain plastic is unknown. Adult plasticity in visual tuning could play a role in cichlid radiations by enabling survival in changing environments and facilitating invasion into novel environments. Here we examine the existence of and temporal changes in adult visual plasticity of two closely related species. In complementary experiments, wild adult Metriaclima mbenji from Lake Malawi were moved to the lab under UV-deficient fluorescent lighting; while lab raised M. benetos were placed under UV-rich lighting designed to mimic light conditions in the wild. Surprisingly, adult cich...

表型可塑性（phenotypic plasticity）可使生物快速适应当地环境条件，并助力适应性辐射事件的发生。慈鲷近期在马拉维湖发生了适应性辐射，它们栖息于多样的光照环境中，并通过视锥视蛋白表达的差异调节视觉敏感度。已知慈鲷的视蛋白表达在发育过程中具有可塑性，但成体是否仍保留可塑性尚未明确。成体视觉调节的可塑性可通过帮助生物在变化环境中存活、并助力其侵入全新环境，在慈鲷的适应性辐射中发挥作用。本研究针对两个近缘物种的成体视觉可塑性及其时序变化展开探究。在互补实验中，研究人员将采自马拉维湖的野生成年姆宾吉朴丽鱼（Metriaclima mbenji）转移至实验室，置于紫外辐射不足的荧光照明环境下；同时将实验室饲养的贝氏朴丽鱼（M. benetos）放置于模拟野生环境光照条件的富紫外辐射照明环境中。令人意外的是，成年慈鲷……