Gasterosteus aculeatus Epigenomics. Gasterosteus aculeatus

The goal of this study was to examine the effects of sex and enviornmental salinity on whole genome DNA methylation in Gasterosteus aculeatus. Gasterosteus aculeatus is a species with evolutionarily “young” heteromorphic sex chromosomes, and a model system for investigating ecological speciation. Very little is known about the role of DNA methylation in the evolution of heteromorphic sex chromosomes and how organisms respond to different environments. These data highlight the multiple evolutionary roles of changes in DNA methylation patterns.

本研究旨在探究性别与环境盐度对三刺鱼（Gasterosteus aculeatus）全基因组DNA甲基化（DNA methylation）的影响。三刺鱼是一类具有进化上“年轻”异形性染色体（heteromorphic sex chromosomes）的物种，同时也是生态物种形成（ecological speciation）研究的经典模式系统。目前学界对DNA甲基化在异形性染色体进化过程中的作用，以及生物体响应不同环境的机制尚缺乏足够认知。本数据集清晰展现了DNA甲基化模式改变所介导的多重进化功能。