TY - JOUR A1 - Amen, Rahma A1 - Nagel, Rebecca A1 - Hedt, Maximilian A1 - Kirschbaum, Frank A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Morphological differentiation in African weakly electric fish (genus Campylomormyrus) relates to substrate preferences JF - Evolutionary Ecology N2 - Under an ecological speciation scenario, the radiation of African weakly electric fish (genus Campylomormyrus) is caused by an adaptation to different food sources, associated with diversification of the electric organ discharge (EOD). This study experimentally investigates a phenotype-environment correlation to further support this scenario. Our behavioural experiments showed that three sympatric Campylomormyrus species with significantly divergent snout morphology differentially react to variation in substrate structure. While the short snout species (C. tamandua) exhibits preference to sandy substrate, the long snout species (C. rhynchophorus) significantly prefers a stone substrate for feeding. A third species with intermediate snout size (C. compressirostris) does not exhibit any substrate preference. This preference is matched with the observation that long-snouted specimens probe deeper into the stone substrate, presumably enabling them to reach prey more distant to the substrate surface. These findings suggest that the diverse feeding apparatus in the genus Campylomormyrus may have evolved in adaptation to specific microhabitats, i.e., substrate structures where these fish forage. Whether the parallel divergence in EOD is functionally related to this adaptation or solely serves as a prezygotic isolation mechanism remains to be elucidated. KW - ecological speciation KW - feeding behaviour KW - electric fish KW - trophic apparatus KW - evolutionary ecology Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-020-10043-3 SN - 0269-7653 SN - 1573-8477 VL - 34 IS - 3 SP - 427 EP - 437 PB - Springer Science CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - GEN A1 - Amen, Rahma A1 - Nagel, Rebecca A1 - Hedt, Maximilian A1 - Kirschbaum, Frank A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Morphological differentiation in African weakly electric fish (genus Campylomormyrus) relates to substrate preferences T2 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Under an ecological speciation scenario, the radiation of African weakly electric fish (genus Campylomormyrus) is caused by an adaptation to different food sources, associated with diversification of the electric organ discharge (EOD). This study experimentally investigates a phenotype-environment correlation to further support this scenario. Our behavioural experiments showed that three sympatric Campylomormyrus species with significantly divergent snout morphology differentially react to variation in substrate structure. While the short snout species (C. tamandua) exhibits preference to sandy substrate, the long snout species (C. rhynchophorus) significantly prefers a stone substrate for feeding. A third species with intermediate snout size (C. compressirostris) does not exhibit any substrate preference. This preference is matched with the observation that long-snouted specimens probe deeper into the stone substrate, presumably enabling them to reach prey more distant to the substrate surface. These findings suggest that the diverse feeding apparatus in the genus Campylomormyrus may have evolved in adaptation to specific microhabitats, i.e., substrate structures where these fish forage. Whether the parallel divergence in EOD is functionally related to this adaptation or solely serves as a prezygotic isolation mechanism remains to be elucidated. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1416 KW - ecological speciation KW - feeding behaviour KW - electric fish KW - trophic apparatus KW - evolutionary ecology Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-518714 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Apio, Ann A1 - Kabasa, John David A1 - Ketmaier, Valerio A1 - Schroeder, Christoph A1 - Plath, Martin A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Female philopatry and male dispersal in a cryptic, bush-dwelling antelope : a combined molecular and behavioural approach N2 - In most mammals, females are philopatric while males disperse in order to avoid inbreeding. We investigated social structure in a solitary ungulate, the bushbuck Tragelaphus sylvaticus in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda by combining behavioural and molecular data. We correlated spatial and social vicinity of individual females with a relatedness score obtained from mitochondrial DNA analysis. Presumed clan members shared the same haplotype, showed more socio-positive interactions and had a common home range. Males had a higher haplotype diversity than females. All this suggests the presence of a matrilineal structure in the study population. Moreover, we tested natal dispersal distances between male and female yearlings and used control region sequences to confirm that females remain in their natal breeding areas whereas males disperse. In microsatellite analysis, males showed a higher genetic variability than females. The impoverished genetic variability of females at both molecular marker sets is consistent with a philopatric and matrilineal structure, while the higher degree of genetic variability of males is congruent with a higher dispersal rate expected in this sex. Evidence even for male long-distance dispersal is brought about by one male carrying a haplotype of a different subspecies, previously not described to occur in this area. Y1 - 2010 UR - http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/issn?DESCRIPTOR=PRINTISSN&VALUE=0952-8369 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.2009.00654.x SN - 0952-8369 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Autenrieth, Marijke A1 - Ernst, Anja A1 - Deaville, Rob A1 - Demaret, Fabien A1 - Ijsseldijk, Lonneke L. A1 - Siebert, Ursula A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Putative origin and maternal relatedness of male sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) recently stranded in the North Sea T2 - Mammalian biology = Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde N2 - The globally distributed sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) has a partly matrilineal social structure with predominant male dispersal. At the beginning of 2016, a total of 30 male sperm whales stranded in five different countries bordering the southern North Sea. It has been postulated that these individuals were on a migration route from the north to warmer temperate and tropical waters where females live in social groups. By including samples from four countries (n = 27), this event provided a unique chance to genetically investigate the maternal relatedness and the putative origin of these temporally and spatially co-occuring male sperm whales. To utilize existing genetic resources, we sequenced 422 bp of the mitochondrial control region, a molecular marker for which sperm whale data are readily available from the entire distribution range. Based on four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the mitochondrial control region, five matrilines could be distinguished within the stranded specimens, four of which matched published haplotypes previously described in the Atlantic. Among these male sperm whales, multiple matrilineal lineages co-occur. We analyzed the population differentiation and could show that the genetic diversity of these male sperm whales is comparable to the genetic diversity in sperm whales from the entire Atlantic Ocean. We confirm that within this stranding event, males do not comprise maternally related individuals and apparently include assemblages of individuals from different geographic regions. (c) 2017 Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Saugetierkunde. Published by Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. KW - Mitochondrial DNA KW - Maternal relationships KW - Population genetics KW - Migration KW - Marine mammals Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mambio.2017.09.003 SN - 1616-5047 SN - 1618-1476 VL - 88 SP - 156 EP - 160 PB - Elsevier CY - München ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Autenrieth, Marijke A1 - Hartmann, Stefanie A1 - Lah, Ljerka A1 - Roos, Anna A1 - Dennis, Alice B. A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - High-quality whole-genome sequence of an abundant Holarctic odontocete, the harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) JF - Molecular ecology resources N2 - The harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) is a highly mobile cetacean found across the Northern hemisphere. It occurs in coastal waters and inhabits basins that vary broadly in salinity, temperature and food availability. These diverse habitats could drive subtle differentiation among populations, but examination of this would be best conducted with a robust reference genome. Here, we report the first harbour porpoise genome, assembled de novo from an individual originating in the Kattegat Sea (Sweden). The genome is one of the most complete cetacean genomes currently available, with a total size of 2.39 Gb and 50% of the total length found in just 34 scaffolds. Using 122 of the longest scaffolds, we were able to show high levels of synteny with the genome of the domestic cattle (Bos taurus). Our draft annotation comprises 22,154 predicted genes, which we further annotated through matches to the NCBI nucleotide database, GO categorization and motif prediction. Within the predicted genes, we have confirmed the presence of >20 genes or gene families that have been associated with adaptive evolution in other cetaceans. Overall, this genome assembly and draft annotation represent a crucial addition to the genomic resources currently available for the study of porpoises and Phocoenidae evolution, phylogeny and conservation. KW - cetaceans KW - genomics/proteomics KW - mammals KW - molecular evolution Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.12932 SN - 1755-098X SN - 1755-0998 VL - 18 IS - 6 SP - 1469 EP - 1481 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bleidorn, Christoph A1 - Hill, Natascha A1 - Erséus, Christer A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - On the role of character loss in orbiniid phylogeny (Annelida) : molecules vs. morphology N2 - Orbiniid phylogeny is matter of debate and incongruence between hypothesis based on molecules and morphology has been repeatedly reported. Moreover, the phylogenetic position of the "oligochaetoid polychaetes" of the taxon Questa varies between morphological and molecular cladistic analyses. Here, we present a nearly complete mitochondrial genome of Questa ersei. The mitochondrial gene order is roughly identical to known orbiniid taxa. Several translocations of tRNAs are unique to Orbiniidae and Questa when compared to other annelid mitochondrial genomes. Additionally, we assembled sequence data of six genes (18S, 16S, cox1, cox3, nad1, nad4) for a representative orbiniid taxon sampling and analysed all data in concatenation using Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian inference. For comparison with morphology we compiled a morphological data matrix for all taxa included in our molecular analyses. Our results strongly support a close relationship of Questa with orbiniids (sequence data, gene order, an 18 bp indel, morphology), and a position nested within orbiniids is recovered in our sequence based analyses. We demonstrate remarkable incongruence of most included morphological characters with the recovered best ML tree and suppose that repeated independent character loss might be an explanation. Y1 - 2009 UR - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/10557903 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2009.03.022 SN - 1055-7903 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bleidorn, Christoph A1 - Lanterbecq, Deborah A1 - Eeckhaut, Igor A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - A PCR survey of Hox genes in the myzostomid Myzostoma cirriferum N2 - Using degenerate primers, we were able to identify seven Hox genes for the myzostomid Myzostoma cirriferum. The recovered fragments belong to anterior class (Mci_lab, Mci_pb), central class (Mci_Dfd, Mci_Lox5, Mci_Antp, Mci_Lox4), and posterior class (Mci_Post2) paralog groups. Orthology assignment was verified by phylogenetic analyses and presence of diagnostic regions in the homeodomain as well as flanking regions. The presence of Lox5, Lox4, and Post2 supports the inclusion of Myzostomida within Lophotrochozoa. We found signature residues within flanking regions of Lox5, which are also found in annelids, but not in Platyhelminthes. As such the available Hox genes data of myzostomids support an annelid relationship. Y1 - 2009 UR - http://www.springerlink.com/content/100526 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00427-009-0282-z SN - 0949-944X ER - TY - GEN A1 - Bleidorn, Christoph A1 - Podsiadlowski, Lars A1 - Zhong, Min A1 - Eeckhaut, Igor A1 - Hartmann, Stefanie A1 - Halanych, Kenneth M. A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - On the phylogenetic position of Myzostomida : can 77 genes get it wrong? N2 - Background: Phylogenomic analyses recently became popular to address questions about deep metazoan phylogeny. Ribosomal proteins (RP) dominate many of these analyses or are, in some cases, the only genes included. Despite initial hopes, hylogenomic analyses including tens to hundreds of genes still fail to robustly place many bilaterian taxa. Results: Using the phylogenetic position of myzostomids as an example, we show that phylogenies derived from RP genes and mitochondrial genes produce incongruent results. Whereas the former support a position within a clade of platyzoan taxa, mitochondrial data recovers an annelid affinity, which is strongly supported by the gene order data and is congruent with morphology. Using hypothesis testing, our RP data significantly rejects the annelids affinity, whereas a platyzoan relationship is significantly rejected by the mitochondrial data. Conclusion: We conclude (i) that reliance of a set of markers belonging to a single class of macromolecular complexes might bias the analysis, and (ii) that concatenation of all available data might introduce conflicting signal into phylogenetic analyses. We therefore strongly recommend testing for data incongruence in phylogenomic analyses. Furthermore, judging all available data, we consider the annelid affinity hypothesis more plausible than a possible platyzoan affinity for myzostomids, and suspect long branch attraction is influencing the RP data. However, this hypothesis needs further confirmation by future analyses. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - paper 123 KW - Cirriferum myzostomida KW - Mitochondrial genomes KW - Transfer-rna KW - Data sets KW - Sequence Y1 - 2009 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-44893 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bonizzoni, Mariangela A1 - Bourjea, Jerome A1 - Chen, Bin A1 - Crain, B. J. A1 - Cui, Liwang A1 - Fiorentino, V. A1 - Hartmann, Stefanie A1 - Hendricks, S. A1 - Ketmaier, Valerio A1 - Ma, Xiaoguang A1 - Muths, Delphine A1 - Pavesi, Laura A1 - Pfautsch, Simone A1 - Rieger, M. A. A1 - Santonastaso, T. A1 - Sattabongkot, Jetsumon A1 - Taron, C. H. A1 - Taron, D. J. A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Yan, Guiyun A1 - Zheng, Bin A1 - Zhong, Daibin T1 - Permanent genetic resources added to molecular ecology resources database 1 April 2011-31 May 2011 JF - Molecular ecology resources N2 - This article documents the addition of 92 microsatellite marker loci to the Molecular Ecology Resources Database. Loci were developed for the following species: Anopheles minimus, An. sinensis, An. dirus, Calephelis mutica, Lutjanus kasmira, Murella muralis and Orchestia montagui. These loci were cross-tested on the following species: Calephelis arizonensi, Calephelis borealis, Calephelis nemesis, Calephelis virginiensis and Lutjanus bengalensis. Y1 - 2011 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1755-0998.2011.03046.x SN - 1755-098X VL - 11 IS - 5 SP - 935 EP - 936 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Malden ER - TY - GEN A1 - Cahsan, Binia De A1 - Kiemel, Katrin A1 - Westbury, Michael V. A1 - Lauritsen, Maike A1 - Autenrieth, Marijke A1 - Gollmann, Günter A1 - Schweiger, Silke A1 - Stenberg, Marika A1 - Nyström, Per A1 - Drews, Hauke A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Southern introgression increases adaptive immune gene variability in northern range margin populations of Fire-bellied toad T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Northern range margin populations of the European fire-bellied toad (Bombina bombina) have rapidly declined during recent decades. Extensive agricultural land use has fragmented the landscape, leading to habitat disruption and loss, as well as eutrophication of ponds. In Northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein) and Southern Sweden (Skåne), this population decline resulted in decreased gene flow from surrounding populations, low genetic diversity, and a putative reduction in adaptive potential, leaving populations vulnerable to future environmental and climatic changes. Previous studies using mitochondrial control region and nuclear transcriptome-wide SNP data detected introgressive hybridization in multiple northern B. bombina populations after unreported release of toads from Austria. Here, we determine the impact of this introgression by comparing the body conditions (proxy for fitness) of introgressed and nonintrogressed populations and the genetic consequences in two candidate genes for putative local adaptation (the MHC II gene as part of the adaptive immune system and the stress response gene HSP70 kDa). We detected regional differences in body condition and observed significantly elevated levels of within individual MHC allele counts in introgressed Swedish populations, associated with a tendency toward higher body weight, relative to regional nonintrogressed populations. These differences were not observed among introgressed and nonintrogressed German populations. Genetic diversity in both MHC and HSP was generally lower in northern than Austrian populations. Our study sheds light on the potential benefits of translocations of more distantly related conspecifics as a means to increase adaptive genetic variability and fitness of genetically depauperate range margin populations without distortion of local adaptation. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1177 KW - Bombina bombina KW - heat shock protein KW - introgression KW - major histocompatibility complex KW - scaled mass index Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-523883 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 14 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Cahsan, Binia De A1 - Kiemel, Katrin A1 - Westbury, Michael V. A1 - Lauritsen, Maike A1 - Autenrieth, Marijke A1 - Gollmann, Günter A1 - Schweiger, Silke A1 - Stenberg, Marika A1 - Nyström, Per A1 - Drews, Hauke A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Southern introgression increases adaptive immune gene variability in northern range margin populations of Fire-bellied toad JF - Ecology and Evolution N2 - Northern range margin populations of the European fire-bellied toad (Bombina bombina) have rapidly declined during recent decades. Extensive agricultural land use has fragmented the landscape, leading to habitat disruption and loss, as well as eutrophication of ponds. In Northern Germany (Schleswig-Holstein) and Southern Sweden (Skåne), this population decline resulted in decreased gene flow from surrounding populations, low genetic diversity, and a putative reduction in adaptive potential, leaving populations vulnerable to future environmental and climatic changes. Previous studies using mitochondrial control region and nuclear transcriptome-wide SNP data detected introgressive hybridization in multiple northern B. bombina populations after unreported release of toads from Austria. Here, we determine the impact of this introgression by comparing the body conditions (proxy for fitness) of introgressed and nonintrogressed populations and the genetic consequences in two candidate genes for putative local adaptation (the MHC II gene as part of the adaptive immune system and the stress response gene HSP70 kDa). We detected regional differences in body condition and observed significantly elevated levels of within individual MHC allele counts in introgressed Swedish populations, associated with a tendency toward higher body weight, relative to regional nonintrogressed populations. These differences were not observed among introgressed and nonintrogressed German populations. Genetic diversity in both MHC and HSP was generally lower in northern than Austrian populations. Our study sheds light on the potential benefits of translocations of more distantly related conspecifics as a means to increase adaptive genetic variability and fitness of genetically depauperate range margin populations without distortion of local adaptation. KW - Bombina bombina KW - heat shock protein KW - introgression KW - major histocompatibility complex KW - scaled mass index Y1 - 2021 SN - 2045-7758 VL - 11 IS - 14 PB - John Wiley & Sons, Inc. CY - New Jersey ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Cahsan, Binia De A1 - Westbury, Michael V. A1 - Paraskevopoulou, Sofia A1 - Drews, Hauke A1 - Ott, Moritz A1 - Gollmann, Günter A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Genomic consequences of human-mediated translocations in margin populations of an endangered amphibian JF - Evolutionary Applications N2 - Due to their isolated and often fragmented nature, range margin populations are especially vulnerable to rapid environmental change. To maintain genetic diversity and adaptive potential, gene flow from disjunct populations might therefore be crucial to their survival. Translocations are often proposed as a mitigation strategy to increase genetic diversity in threatened populations. However, this also includes the risk of losing locally adapted alleles through genetic swamping. Human-mediated translocations of southern lineage specimens into northern German populations of the endangered European fire-bellied toad (Bombina bombina) provide an unexpected experimental set-up to test the genetic consequences of an intraspecific introgression from central population individuals into populations at the species range margin. Here, we utilize complete mitochondrial genomes and transcriptome nuclear data to reveal the full genetic extent of this translocation and the consequences it may have for these populations. We uncover signs of introgression in four out of the five northern populations investigated, including a number of introgressed alleles ubiquitous in all recipient populations, suggesting a possible adaptive advantage. Introgressed alleles dominate at the MTCH2 locus, associated with obesity/fat tissue in humans, and the DSP locus, essential for the proper development of epidermal skin in amphibians. Furthermore, we found loci where local alleles were retained in the introgressed populations, suggesting their relevance for local adaptation. Finally, comparisons of genetic diversity between introgressed and nonintrogressed northern German populations revealed an increase in genetic diversity in all German individuals belonging to introgressed populations, supporting the idea of a beneficial transfer of genetic variation from Austria into North Germany. KW - adaptive introgression KW - admixture KW - Bombina bombina KW - genetic rescue KW - mitogenomes KW - transcriptomics Y1 - 2020 SN - 1752-4563 VL - 14 IS - 6 PB - John Wiley & Sons, Inc. CY - New Jersey ER - TY - GEN A1 - Cahsan, Binia De A1 - Westbury, Michael V. A1 - Paraskevopoulou, Sofia A1 - Drews, Hauke A1 - Ott, Moritz A1 - Gollmann, Günter A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Genomic consequences of human-mediated translocations in margin populations of an endangered amphibian T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Due to their isolated and often fragmented nature, range margin populations are especially vulnerable to rapid environmental change. To maintain genetic diversity and adaptive potential, gene flow from disjunct populations might therefore be crucial to their survival. Translocations are often proposed as a mitigation strategy to increase genetic diversity in threatened populations. However, this also includes the risk of losing locally adapted alleles through genetic swamping. Human-mediated translocations of southern lineage specimens into northern German populations of the endangered European fire-bellied toad (Bombina bombina) provide an unexpected experimental set-up to test the genetic consequences of an intraspecific introgression from central population individuals into populations at the species range margin. Here, we utilize complete mitochondrial genomes and transcriptome nuclear data to reveal the full genetic extent of this translocation and the consequences it may have for these populations. We uncover signs of introgression in four out of the five northern populations investigated, including a number of introgressed alleles ubiquitous in all recipient populations, suggesting a possible adaptive advantage. Introgressed alleles dominate at the MTCH2 locus, associated with obesity/fat tissue in humans, and the DSP locus, essential for the proper development of epidermal skin in amphibians. Furthermore, we found loci where local alleles were retained in the introgressed populations, suggesting their relevance for local adaptation. Finally, comparisons of genetic diversity between introgressed and nonintrogressed northern German populations revealed an increase in genetic diversity in all German individuals belonging to introgressed populations, supporting the idea of a beneficial transfer of genetic variation from Austria into North Germany. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1168 KW - adaptive introgression KW - admixture KW - Bombina bombina KW - genetic rescue KW - mitogenomes KW - transcriptomics Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-523140 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 6 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Canitz, Julia A1 - Kirschbaum, Frank A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - Transcriptome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms related to electric organ discharge differentiation among African weakly electric fish species JF - PLoS one N2 - African weakly electric fish of the mormyrid genus Campylomormyrus generate pulse-type electric organ discharges (EODs) for orientation and communication. Their pulse durations are species-specific and elongated EODs are a derived trait. So far, differential gene expression among tissue-specific transcriptomes across species with different pulses and point mutations in single ion channel genes indicate a relation of pulse duration and electrocyte geometry/excitability. However, a comprehensive assessment of expressed Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) throughout the entire transcriptome of African weakly electric fish, with the potential to identify further genes influencing EOD duration, is still lacking. This is of particular value, as discharge duration is likely based on multiple cellular mechanisms and various genes. Here we provide the first transcriptome-wide SNP analysis of African weakly electric fish species (genus Campylomormyrus) differing by EOD duration to identify candidate genes and cellular mechanisms potentially involved in the determination of an elongated discharge of C. tshokwe. Non-synonymous substitutions specific to C. tshokwe were found in 27 candidate genes with inferred positive selection among Campylomormyrus species. These candidate genes had mainly functions linked to transcriptional regulation, cell proliferation and cell differentiation. Further, by comparing gene annotations between C. compressirostris (ancestral short EOD) and C. tshokwe (derived elongated EOD), we identified 27 GO terms and 2 KEGG pathway categories for which C. tshokwe significantly more frequently exhibited a species-specific expressed substitution than C. compressirostris. The results indicate that transcriptional regulation as well cell proliferation and differentiation take part in the determination of elongated pulse durations in C. tshokwe. Those cellular processes are pivotal for tissue morphogenesis and might determine the shape of electric organs supporting the observed correlation between electrocyte geometry/tissue structure and discharge duration. The inferred expressed SNPs and their functional implications are a valuable resource for future investigations on EOD durations. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240812 SN - 1932-6203 VL - 15 IS - 10 PB - PLoS CY - San Francisco, California, US ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Cheng, Feng A1 - Dennis, Alice B. A1 - Osuoha, Josephine Ijeoma A1 - Canitz, Julia A1 - Kirschbaum, Frank A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - A new genome assembly of an African weakly electric fish (Campylomormyrus compressirostris, Mormyridae) indicates rapid gene family evolution in Osteoglossomorpha JF - BMC genomics N2 - Background Teleost fishes comprise more than half of the vertebrate species. Within teleosts, most phylogenies consider the split between Osteoglossomorpha and Euteleosteomorpha/Otomorpha as basal, preceded only by the derivation of the most primitive group of teleosts, the Elopomorpha. While Osteoglossomorpha are generally species poor, the taxon contains the African weakly electric fish (Mormyroidei), which have radiated into numerous species. Within the mormyrids, the genus Campylomormyrus is mostly endemic to the Congo Basin. Campylomormyrus serves as a model to understand mechanisms of adaptive radiation and ecological speciation, especially with regard to its highly diverse species-specific electric organ discharges (EOD). Currently, there are few well-annotated genomes available for electric fish in general and mormyrids in particular. Our study aims at producing a high-quality genome assembly and to use this to examine genome evolution in relation to other teleosts. This will facilitate further understanding of the evolution of the osteoglossomorpha fish in general and of electric fish in particular. Results A high-quality weakly electric fish (C. compressirostris) genome was produced from a single individual with a genome size of 862 Mb, consisting of 1,497 contigs with an N50 of 1,399 kb and a GC-content of 43.69%. Gene predictions identified 34,492 protein-coding genes, which is a higher number than in the two other available Osteoglossomorpha genomes of Paramormyrops kingsleyae and Scleropages formosus. A Computational Analysis of gene Family Evolution (CAFE5) comparing 33 teleost fish genomes suggests an overall faster gene family turnover rate in Osteoglossomorpha than in Otomorpha and Euteleosteomorpha. Moreover, the ratios of expanded/contracted gene family numbers in Osteoglossomorpha are significantly higher than in the other two taxa, except for species that had undergone an additional genome duplication (Cyprinus carpio and Oncorhynchus mykiss). As potassium channel proteins are hypothesized to play a key role in EOD diversity among species, we put a special focus on them, and manually curated 16 Kv1 genes. We identified a tandem duplication in the KCNA7a gene in the genome of C. compressirostris. Conclusions We present the fourth genome of an electric fish and the third well-annotated genome for Osteoglossomorpha, enabling us to compare gene family evolution among major teleost lineages. Osteoglossomorpha appear to exhibit rapid gene family evolution, with more gene family expansions than contractions. The curated Kv1 gene family showed seven gene clusters, which is more than in other analyzed fish genomes outside Osteoglossomorpha. The KCNA7a, encoding for a potassium channel central for EOD production and modulation, is tandemly duplicated which may related to the diverse EOD observed among Campylomormyrus species. KW - Campylomormyrus KW - Pacbio sequencing KW - Gene family KW - Osteoglossomorpha KW - Kv1 Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-023-09196-6 SN - 1471-2164 VL - 24 IS - 1 PB - BMC CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Colangeli, Pierluigi A1 - Schlägel, Ulrike E. A1 - Obertegger, Ulrike A1 - Petermann, Jana S. A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Weithoff, Guntram T1 - Negative phototactic response to UVR in three cosmopolitan rotifers: a video analysis approach JF - Hydrobiologia : acta hydrobiologica, hydrographica, limnologica et protistologica KW - Risk avoidance behavior KW - Brachionus calyciflorus KW - Keratella cochlearis KW - BEMOVI KW - Movement ecology Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-018-3801-y SN - 0018-8158 SN - 1573-5117 VL - 844 IS - 1 SP - 43 EP - 54 PB - Springer CY - Dordrecht ER - TY - JOUR A1 - De Cahsan, Binia A1 - Nagel, Rebecca A1 - Schedina, Ina-Maria A1 - King, James J. A1 - Bianco, Pier G. A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Ketmaier, Valerio T1 - Phylogeography of the European brook lamprey (Lampetra planeri) and the European river lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis) species pair based on mitochondrial data JF - Journal of fish biology N2 - The European river lamprey Lampetra fluviatilis and the European brook lamprey Lampetra planeri (Block 1784) are classified as a paired species, characterized by notably different life histories but morphological similarities. Previous work has further shown limited genetic differentiation between these two species at the mitochondrial DNA level. Here, we expand on this previous work, which focused on lamprey species from the Iberian Peninsula in the south and mainland Europe in the north, by sequencing three mitochondrial marker regions of Lampetra individuals from five river systems in Ireland and five in southern Italy. Our results corroborate the previously identified pattern of genetic diversity for the species pair. We also show significant genetic differentiation between Irish and mainland European lamprey populations, suggesting another ichthyogeographic district distinct from those previously defined. Finally, our results stress the importance of southern Italian L. planeri populations, which maintain several private alleles and notable genetic diversity. KW - European lamprey KW - Lampetra KW - paired species KW - phylogeography KW - population KW - structure Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.14279 SN - 0022-1112 SN - 1095-8649 VL - 96 IS - 4 SP - 905 EP - 912 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Oxford [u.a.] ER - TY - JOUR A1 - De Cahsan, Binia A1 - Westbury, Michael V. A1 - Drews, Hauke A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - The complete mitochondrial genome of a European fire-bellied toad (Bombina bombina) from Germany JF - Mitochondrial DNA Part B N2 - The European fire-bellied toad, Bombina bombina, is a small aquatic toad belonging to the family Bombinatoridae. The species is native to the lowlands of Central and Eastern Europe, where population numbers have been in decline in recent past decades. Here, we present the first complete mitochondrial genome of the endangered European fire-bellied toad from Northern Germany recovered using iterative mapping. Phylogenetic analyses including other representatives of the Bombinatoridae placed our German specimen as sister to a Polish B. bombina sequence with high support. This finding is congruent with the postulated Pleistocene history of the species. Our complete mitochondrial genome represents an important resource for further population analysis of the European fire-bellied toad, especially those found within Germany. KW - Bombina bombina KW - Fire-bellied toad KW - mitogenome KW - conservation genetics KW - population delimitation Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/23802359.2018.1547143 SN - 2380-2359 VL - 4 IS - 1 SP - 498 EP - 500 PB - Taylor & Francis Group CY - London ER - TY - GEN A1 - De Cahsan, Binia A1 - Westbury, Michael V. A1 - Drews, Hauke A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph T1 - The complete mitochondrial genome of a European fire-bellied toad (Bombina bombina) from Germany T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - The European fire-bellied toad, Bombina bombina, is a small aquatic toad belonging to the family Bombinatoridae. The species is native to the lowlands of Central and Eastern Europe, where population numbers have been in decline in recent past decades. Here, we present the first complete mitochondrial genome of the endangered European fire-bellied toad from Northern Germany recovered using iterative mapping. Phylogenetic analyses including other representatives of the Bombinatoridae placed our German specimen as sister to a Polish B. bombina sequence with high support. This finding is congruent with the postulated Pleistocene history of the species. Our complete mitochondrial genome represents an important resource for further population analysis of the European fire-bellied toad, especially those found within Germany. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 532 KW - Bombina bombina KW - Fire-bellied toad KW - mitogenome KW - conservation genetics KW - population delimitation Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-423222 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 532 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Di Giacomo, Adrian S. A1 - Di Giacomo, Alejandro G. A1 - Kliger, Rafi A1 - Reboreda, Juan C. A1 - Tiedemann, Ralph A1 - Mahler, Bettina T1 - No evidence of genetic variation in microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA markers among remaining populations of the Strange-tailed Tyrant Alectrurus risora, an endangered grassland species JF - Bird conservation international N2 - The Strange-tailed Tyrant Alectrurus risora (Aves: Tyrannidae) is an endemic species of southern South American grasslands that suffered a 90% reduction of its original distribution due to habitat transformation. This has led the species to be classified as globally Vulnerable. By the beginning of the last century, populations were partially migratory and moved south during the breeding season. Currently, the main breeding population inhabits the Ibera wetlands in the province of Corrientes, north-east Argentina, where it is resident all year round. There are two remaining small populations in the province of Formosa, north-east Argentina, and in southern Paraguay, which are separated from the main population by the Parana-Paraguay River and its continuous riverine forest habitat. The populations of Corrientes and Formosa are separated by 300 km and the grasslands between populations are non-continuous due to habitat transformation. We used mtDNA sequences and eight microsatellite loci to test if there were evidences of genetic isolation between Argentinean populations. We found no evidence of genetic structure between populations (Phi(ST) = 0.004, P = 0.32; Fst = 0.01, P = 0.06), which can be explained by either retained ancestral polymorphism or by dispersal between populations. We found no evidence for a recent demographic bottleneck in nuclear loci. Our results indicate that these populations could be managed as a single conservation unit on a regional scale. Conservation actions should be focused on preserving the remaining network of areas with natural grasslands to guarantee reproduction, dispersal and prevent further decline of populations. Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959270914000203 SN - 0959-2709 SN - 1474-0001 VL - 25 IS - 2 SP - 127 EP - 138 PB - Cambridge Univ. Press CY - New York ER -