S-67
Development
Shared identity, divergent states: comparative expression analysis of the lateral eye and pineal complex in lizards
Ricardo D Romero1,2, Anderson KS de Lima3, Julia Klaczko4, Luciano J Ávila5, Mariana Morando5,6, Flavio SJ de Souza1,2
1. Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (IFIBYNE-UBA-CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
2. Departamento de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Celular, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires (FBMC-FCEN-UBA), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
3. Graduate Program in Zoology, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil.
4. Department of Physiological Sciences, Laboratory of Vertebrate Comparative Anatomy, Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil.
5. Instituto Patagónico para el Estudio de los Ecosistemas Continentales (IPEEC-CONICET), Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina.
6. Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco, Sede Puerto Madryn, Chubut, Argentina.
Presenting Author:
Ricardo Daniel
Romero Marin
naft.rromero@gmail.com
One of the reasons behind vertebrate evolutionary success, since their origin over 540 million years ago, is the presence of several photoreceptive organs that allow them a rich perception of the environment. These structures later diverged into the eyes and the pineal complex, comprising the pineal gland and accessory structures like the parapineal organ in lampreys and fishes, the frontal organ in anuran amphibians, and the parietal eye in lizards. According to this hypothesis, the eyes and the pineal complex might be serial homologous structures, since they share a common origin as photoreceptor organs. Within the Character Identity Network (ChIN) framework, the developmental identity of homologous structures is specified by a network of transcription factors, while effector genes confer distinct character states. To study the degree of identity network conservation between vertebrate photoreceptor structures, we are analysing the gene expression pattern in the eye and pineal complex of the lizards Liolaemus darwinii and Tropidurus torquatus, using immunofluorescence and RNA-seq, aiming to map the extent of the shared ChIN and character state genes. Our results indicate a high degree of resemblance between eyes and pineal complex in relation to the expression of developmental genes, like transcription factors, while some genes involved in character states, like light-sensitive opsins, are expressed differentially.
