A morphological characterization and genetic exploration of a key innovation: the exoskeleton of armored catfish

Diplôme Master A morphological characterization and genetic exploration of a key innovation: the exoskeleton of armored catfish eng 2013 author Shea Claire Ann 786858 director Montoya Burgos Juan Ignacio 47049 Key innovations permit clades to infiltrate ecological niches, modifying evolutionary constraints on natural selection and engendering rapid diversification. The remarkably diverse Loricariidae family (order Siluriformes) is important to the study of key innovations: these catfish are ‘armored' by bony plates (scutes) and mineralized cones (denticles) which arise before sexual maturity and persist through adulthood, indicating their importance to reproductive success and longevity. Previous work has suggested that denticles are newly expressed teeth. Here, morphological characterization of the developing exoskeleton in three species defined a spatially consistent sequence of maturation and mineralization. Homology of teeth and denticles was corroborated by structural similarities, while genetic analyses suggested that key genes in tooth development are present in the juvenile catfish epidermis. These combined data give a richer understanding of the relationship between denticles and teeth, which has implications for studies of speciation, adaptation, and genomic flexibility. Loricariidae Siluriformes Armored catfish Homology Key innovation Exoskeleton Dentition Dewey 590 Travail de maîtrise universitaire en Biologie 44 Département de génétique et évolution 162 false 827 Groupe Montoya 8ac62e2c-8244-4416-bc14-51dff2ecb14c Master thesis Restricted Final_SHEA.pdf 4259939 application/pdf restrictedAccess Faculté des sciences / Section de biologie / Département de génétique et évolution

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A morphological characterization and genetic exploration of a key innovation: the exoskeleton of armored catfish				2013	331	12

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Shea, Claire Ann