Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2021
Erindi/veggspjald / Talk/poster E20
Höfundar / Authors: Jake Goodall (1), Snæbjörn Pálsson (1)
Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: 1. Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland
Kynnir / Presenter: Jake Goodall
Crangonyx is a genus of freshwater amphipods distributed across North America, North Africa, and Iceland. The genus likely originated from a freshwater ancestor prior to the breakup of Pangea, however, it is unclear whether this ancestor occupied surface or subterranean habitat as both are represented in extant species (although the vast majority are subterranean). Interestingly, habitat niche and phylogenetic relationship within Crangonyx are not correlated, allowing for potential comparisons of highly related species occupying vastly different niche. Here we present a transcriptomic comparison of two Crangonyx amphipods: the surface living Crangonyx pseudogracilis from North America and the recently discovered subterranean Crangonyx islandicus from Iceland. Transcriptomes for both species were de novo assembled and gene families delimitated to identify both homologous gene families and genes exclusive to C. pseudogracilis and C. islandicus. Synonymous versus non-synonymous mutations rates (Ka/Ks) were calculated for homologous gene sets highlighting genes under selection in surface vs. subterranean environments. The evolutionary and functional significance of these datasets will be discussed, as well as key features differentiating C. pseudogracilis and C. islandicus.