Adaptation to any environment through the course of its evolution involves the alteration of multiple traits to ensure survival, Astyanax mexicanus is a notable example of this. Some of the most notable differences between the surface and cave populations are loss of pigmentation, decreased sleep, and reduced eyes. 208 surface – cave F2 hybrids were assessed for several morphological and behavioral phenotypes. There were significant differences found between pigmented and albino individuals, raising the question of a shared genetic basis for these traits. Oculocutaneous albinism 2 (oca2) is a notable contributor to albinism in many species, including A. mexicanus. Surface fish with CRISPR mutations at oca2 confirmed a contribution of oca2 in sleep loss within albino cavefish. Further, it was determined that oca2 is under selection and possibly has a pleiotropic function, which underlies the adaptive evolution of sleep loss and albinism. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2020. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fau.edu/oai:fau.digital.flvc.org:fau_64709 |
| Contributors | O'Gorman, Morgan (author), Keene, Alex (Thesis advisor), Florida Atlantic University (Degree grantor), Department of Biological Sciences, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science |
| Publisher | Florida Atlantic University |
| Source Sets | Florida Atlantic University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, Text |
| Format | 45 p., application/pdf |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder., http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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