Meeting Abstract

S8.7  Tuesday, Jan. 6  The diversity of cichlid vision CARLETON, Karen L; University of Maryland kcarleto@umd.edu

Cichlids are well known for their diverse morphologies and color patterns. We have found that their visual systems are also highly diverse with some of the largest known differences in visual sensitivities amongst closely related species. This diversity is a result of cichlids having seven unique cone opsin genes. Because these genes are sensitive from the ultraviolet to the red ends of the spectrum, and because species differ in which sets of these genes they express, visual sensitivities can show large shifts between species. Cichlids can also more finely tune visual pigments through alterations in opsin amino acid sequence. Both of these tuning mechanisms likely play an important role in cichlid ecology and communication. We will discuss our progress to determine the molecular mechanisms which control cichlid visual sensitivities as well as their possible role in driving cichlid diversification.