MOLECULAR AND BIOMECHANICAL BASES OF CRYPTIC PLASTICITY.

• Grant number: 22/11832-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: March 01, 2023
• End date: February 28, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Animal Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Tiana Kohlsdorf
• Grantee: Leandro Lofeu da Silva
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 20/14780-1 - Evo-Devo in dynamic environments: implications of climatic changes in the biodiversity, AP.TEM

Abstract

Cryptic plasticity is the hidden potential to reveal new phenotypes in response to novel or extreme environments during development. Evidence suggests that this potential might facilitate the evolution of adaptations, being an important promoter of phenotypic diversification. However, its genetic and developmental basis remains obscure, and therefore it is still unclear how this type of plasticity has evolved. Moreover, the interaction between molecular pathways and non-genetic factors, such as mechanical forces resulting from specific behaviors, may drive responses detectable in the morphospace. Recently, we have empirically demonstrated that the Neotropical fish species Megaleporinus macrocephalus (Anostomidae) has a hidden plastic potential to reveal new head morphotypes, which have not been described in natural populations of this species but rescue the morphotypes observed in other Megaleporinus species, and also in other genera of Anostomidae. These findings reinforce the hypothesis that ancestral plasticity might be a promoter of broad phenotypic diversification in this family. We also have already identified that differences in bmp4 expression are observed in the bottom and surface morphotypes, and mechanical forces associated with foraging activities, including a possible biomechanical module in the chondrocranium, may facilitate and drive plastic changes in the M. macrocephalus skull. In this context, the present postdoctoral proposal applies an integrative and interdisciplinary approach to investigate the molecular and biomechanical basis of cryptic plasticity in M. macrocephalus (Anostomidae). We will use transcriptome, qPCR and Fluorescent In Situ Hybridization (FISH) analyzes during the ontogeny, and compare experimental and control groups to identify the developmental pathways involved in the expression of cryptic plasticity in this species. Moreover, we will apply a physics' tool, the Finite Element Analysis (FEA), to understand how cranial bones change as a function of the mechanical stress generated by foraging activity. The results from this project will provide important insights into the molecular and biomechanical basis of cryptic plasticity, and also introduce a new study system for the EcoEvoDevo field.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

LOFEU, LEANDRO; MONTEFELTRO, FELIPE; SIMON, MONIQUE NOUAILHETAS; KOHLSDORF, TIANA. Functional modularity and mechanical stress shape plastic responses during fish development. Evolution, v. 78, n. 9, p. 15-pg., 2024-06-06. (22/11832-6, 20/14780-1)