EvoEye
- Start date: December 20th 2024
Astyanax surface fish 7dpf eye section
- End date: December 19th 2027
- Value: 200 000 EUR
We’ve received a grant from the Croatian Science Foundation for the project EvoEye (Exploring plasticity and robustness: Unravelling evolutionary mechanisms of eye development in cave tetra Astyanax mexicanus). In this project, we’ll study the developmental, cellular, molecular, and epigenetic mechanisms that drive phenotypic plasticity in the eyes of Astyanax surface fish, and how these processes contribute to eye degeneration in cavefish. Our team includes a group of international scientists: Dr. Juan Tena (Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo, Sevilla, Spain), Dr. Jaya Krishnan (Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City, USA), Dr. Romana Gračan (University of Zagreb), and Dr. Marko Lukić (Croatian Natural History Museum). Together, we’ll approach this problem from multiple perspectives to better understand the fascinating evolution of cavefish.
Evolution in the dark
- Start date: May 1st 2019
- End date: August 1st 2024
- Value: 1 333 000 EUR
The project is funded by the program “Research Excellence Program in Science and Higher Education - the Tenure Track Pilot Program” (TTPP) designed to support excellent young researchers to establish their own independent research groups. Program is administered by Croatian Science Foundation and Swiss partner École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne.
This project enabled us to form an independent research group in the Department of Molecular Biology, and fully equip laboratory for experimental biology and animal facilities for maintenance of cave organisms.
Grant summary:
How organisms adapt to the environment and generate novel phenotypes are fundamental questions in biology. Cave adapted animals offer outstanding opportunities to answer them because the cave environment is simple, novel phenotypes evolved convergently in different phyla, and surface dwelling relatives resembling the ancestral form are available for comparative studies. I will integrate molecular, cellular, and organismal approaches to 1) explore the effect of the environment and 2) investigate the molecular origin of a major evolutionary adaptation. 1. By exposing closely related surface relatives to constant darkness in controlled laboratory conditions we can identify the adaptations in the cave forms that evolved due to the lack of light - the major feature of caves. My previous research on the fish Astyanax mexicanus showed that traits considered as cave adaptations (e.g. metabolism, stress response) can be induced by exposing the surface form to darkness. I propose to investigate i) the molecular mechanisms that underlie these phenotypic changes in Astyanax surface fish and ii) whether darkness would induce similar changes in closely related surface relatives of cave adapted invertebrates (arthropods, planaria). 2. One of the hallmarks of cave adaptations is the loss of pigmentation, present almost ubiquitously in all groups regardless of the type of pigment they synthesize. My previous research identified a relevant molecular change in multiple cave animals with melanin pigmentation, and that natural selection as opposed to drift is likely involved. Nothing is known about the other pigments that are lost in cave animals. Therefore, I propose to investigate the molecular and evolutionary mechanisms of ommochrome and porphyrin loss in cave adapted arthropods and planaria. Insights from these studies would provide new understanding of the mechanisms of convergent evolution and the genetic origin of novel phenotypes.
Fauna of aquatic subterranean ecosystems in Plitvice lakes National Park
- Start date: February 2nd 2020
- End date: November 31st 2020
- Value: 25 000 EUR
The Plitvice Lakes National Park is famous for its crystal clear waters and beautiful travertine waterfalls connecting a series of lakes. However, what’s hidden underground is a mystery as the underground aquifers and springs feeding this system are not accessible to researchers.
In this project we have developed the methodology to sample and sequence environmental DNA (eDNA ) in order to identify the species that live in the park’s subterranean waters. We have discovered a rich assemblage of species including sponges, leeches, bivalves, and even fish. This project was funded by Plitvice Lakes National Park.