Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2025
Erindi/veggspjald / Talk/poster E70
Höfundar / Authors: Marina de la Cámara (1), Kalina H. Kapralova (1)
Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: 1. Institute for Experimental Pathology at Keldur
Kynnir / Presenter: Marina de la Cámara
The evolution of small body sizes (i.e., miniaturisation) is an important process in evolutionary biology and a driver of biodiversity. Systems of closely related species or populations undergoing miniaturisation provide natural laboratories for exploring the genomic underpinnings of small-sized individuals. In Iceland, several freshwater populations of Arctic charr have independently evolved dwarf forms in response to exploiting macroinvertebrate resources in complex lava-rich habitats. These forms share characteristic traits, including a chunky body shape, sub-terminal mouth, broad rounded snout, large pectoral fins, and cryptic coloration with parr marks (i.e., vertical dark bands typical of juvenile salmonids). Because they are visually easy to detect, parr marks may serve as sentinel traits for more complex life-history traits. In this study, we investigate the genetic basis of parr mark retention using Arctic charr from lake Thingvallavatn. We combined quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping from families reared in common-garden experiments with genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of wild individuals. Our preliminary results reveal non-overlapping genomic signals associated with parr marks, that build a promising framework for extending to whole-genome sequencing (WGS) approaches across multiple wild populations in Iceland. Together, this work offers new insights into the genomic architecture of ecologically relevant traits and their role in adaptive divergence.