
Meeting Abstract
Female Astatotilapia burtoni, a species of mouthbrooding cichlid, voluntarily starve themselves for two weeks while their young develop. Little is known about the physiological mechanisms that have evolved to allow them to accomplish this. A. burtoni therefore represent an excellent animal model in which to study the mechanisms that integrate the regulation of feeding and reproduction. Brooders who are starving face different challenges than starving non-brooders; by comparing brooding and starved females, we aim to identify key evolutionary innovations that allow for mouthbrooding. In addition to the neural regulation of feeding, peripheral changes in physiology are also necessary to allow brooders to conserve energy. Preliminary RNAseq data suggest that gut cell turn over, an energetically expensive process, may be regulated throughout the brooding cycle in a manner that differs from a female that is simply starving involuntarily. Imunohistochemical techniques to detect cell proliferation and apoptosis in the intestines support this finding. We show fewer apoptotic cells in brooding females compared to starved or fed females. These physiological differences in the gut will create a novel environment that may feedback on the behavior and physiology of the brooding female. Here we track the gut microbiota of female cichlid to discover changes associated with brooding stage. Such studies may reveal interaction between host and microbiome that could influence this key evolutionary innovation of mouth brooding.