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Nanopore amplicon sequencing reveals molecular convergence and local adaptation of rhodopsin in Great Lakes salmonids

Genome Biology and Evolution
By: , , , , and 
https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaa237

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Abstract

Local adaptation can drive diversification of closely related species across environmental gradients and promote convergence of distantly related taxa that experience similar conditions. We examined a potential case of adaptation to novel visual environments in a species flock (Great Lakes salmonids, genus Coregonus) using a new amplicon genotyping protocol on the Oxford Nanopore Flongle and MinION. We sequenced five visual opsin genes for individuals of C. artedi, C. hoyi, C. kiyi, and C. zenithicus. Comparisons revealed species-specific differences in a key spectral tuning amino acid in rhodopsin (Tyr261Phe substitution), suggesting local adaptation of C. kiyi to the blue-shifted depths of Lake Superior. Ancestral state reconstruction demonstrates that parallel evolution and “toggling” at this amino acid residue has occurred several times across the fish tree of life, resulting in identical changes to the visual systems of distantly related taxa across replicated environmental gradients. Our results suggest that ecological differences and local adaptation to distinct visual environments are strong drivers of both evolutionary parallelism and diversification.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Nanopore amplicon sequencing reveals molecular convergence and local adaptation of rhodopsin in Great Lakes salmonids
Series title Genome Biology and Evolution
DOI 10.1093/gbe/evaa237
Volume 13
Issue 2
Year Published 2021
Language English
Publisher Oxford University Press
Contributing office(s) Great Lakes Science Center
Description evaa237, 8 p.
Country Canada, United States
Other Geospatial Lake Superior
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