Distinct genetic architecture underlies the emergence of sleep loss and prey-seeking behavior in the Mexican cavefish

• DOI: 10.1186/s12915-015-0119-3
• Publication Date: 2015-02-19T18:11:18Z
• Authors: Masato Yoshizawa; Beatriz G Robinson; Erik R Duboué; Pavel Masek; James B Jaggard; Kelly E O’Quin; Richard L Borowsky; William R Jeffery; Alex C Keene
• Keywords: Sleep; Genetic architecture; Sleep architecture

Sleep is characterized by extended periods of quiescence and reduced responsiveness to sensory stimuli. Animals ranging from insects mammals adapt environments with limited food suppressing sleep enhancing their response cues, yet little known about the genetic evolutionary relationship between these processes. The blind Mexican cavefish, Astyanax mexicanus a powerful model for elucidating mechanisms underlying behavioral evolution. A. comprises an extant ancestral-type surface dwelling morph at least five independently evolved cave populations. Evolutionary convergence on loss vibration attraction behavior, which involved in prey seeking, have been documented cavefish raising possibility that enhanced underlies changes sleep. We established system study behavior adult used high coverage quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping investigate functional traits. Analysis surface-cave F2 hybrid fish outbred population indicates independent factors underlie sleep/locomotor activity behavior. High-coverage QTL genotyping-by-sequencing technology identify two novel intervals associate locomotor include narcolepsy-associated tp53 regulating kinase. These QTLs represent first genomic localization are distinct previously identified as associating Taken together, results localize regions populations provide evidence responsiveness.