Meeting Abstract
Transitions between marine and freshwater environments drive osmoregulatory adaptations of many aquatic organisms. Bidirectional transitions have occurred repeatedly during the diversification of fishes, allowing for broad scale examination of repeatable patterns in evolution. We are comparing genome-wide patterns of gene expression across six distantly related species pairs from high and low-salinity environments, including South American silversides (Odontesthes), scaleless carp (Gymnocypris), ide (Leuciscus), stickleback (Gasterosteus), killifish (Lucania), and livebearers (Limia). For each pair, we mapped raw reads to a close reference, identified orthologous genes, and compared the expression levels in an explicit phylogenetic framework. Identifying convergent patterns of physiological responses across distant lineages sheds insight about conserved mechanisms underlying osmoregulation in fishes.
