Conference Paper
The evolution of sleep loss in relation to metabolic processes in Mexican cavefish
Robinson, B.G., Jaggard, J.B., Yoshizawa, M. and Keene, A.C.
Record Number:
3088
Year:
2015
Journal:
AIM 2015
Abstract:
Sleep is an essential behavior that is universal throughout the animal kingdom, yet it is
highly variable in timing and duration between species. Food supply is one of the
multiple factors underlying evolutionary changes in sleep. Changes in sleep behavior
have been linked to energy stores; however, the relationship between sleep modulation
and metabolic processes remains poorly understood. The Mexican cavefish, Astyanax
mexicanus, is a model system for investigating the evolution of sleep in response to new
environmental pressures. A. mexicanus consists of cave-dwelling cavefish, that have been
isolated in cave environments and its ancestral-type river-dwelling surface fish. Here, we
are using A. mexicanus to investigate the relationship between diet and sleep. RNAseq in
Pachón cavefish revealed modification of genes related to metabolic function and activity
in cave populations, suggesting a relationship between metabolism and sleep. To address
this hypothesis, we have systematically investigated the effect of diet on energy stores
and sleep of several cave populations of A. mexicanus. Unlike surface-fish and several
other cave populations, the Molino population exhibits a robust increase in energy stores
and sleep while on a high fat diet. Current work is examining the relationship between
basal triglyceride levels and sleep in surface-cave hybrid fish. Our findings provide
evidence for functional differences in the evolution of metabolic changes between
Molino and other A. mexicanus populations.
Times Cited:
1
Relevent Species: