Meeting Abstract

S8.5  Tuesday, Jan. 6  Constraint and diversification in the evolutionary development of cichlid dentitions STREELMAN, JT; Georgia Institute of Technology todd.streelman@biology.gatech.edu

Closely related cichlid fishes from Lake Malawi exhibit continuously replacing dentitions on two jaws, and dramatic variation in tooth number, tooth size, tooth spacing and tooth shape. We have studied gene networks that organize cichlid dentitions through development. Here, I highlight notable examples of conservation and divergence in gene expression that pattern teeth across jaws and species.