Annual Killifish Transcriptomics and Candidate Genes for Metazoan Diapause

Physiological strategies during animal diapause: lessons from brine shrimp and annual killifish.

Diapause is a programmed state of developmental arrest that typically occurs as part of the natural developmental progression of organisms that inhabit seasonal environments. The brine shrimp Artemia franciscana and annual killifish Austrofundulus limnaeus share strikingly similar life histories that include embryonic diapause as a means to synchronize the growth and reproduction phases of thei...

Alternative developmental pathways associated with diapause regulated by temperature and maternal influences in embryos of the annual killifish Austrofundulus limnaeus.

Embryos of the annual killifish Austrofundulus limnaeus enter a state of developmental arrest termed diapause as part of their normal developmental program. Diapause can occur at two distinct developmental stages in this species, termed diapause II and III. When incubated at 25°C, most embryos enter diapause II, whereas a small percentage of 'escape' embryos develop continuously past diapause I...

Convergent evolution of alternative developmental trajectories associated with diapause in African and South American killifish.

Annual killifish adapted to life in seasonally ephemeral water-bodies exhibit desiccation resistant eggs that can undergo diapause, a period of developmental arrest, enabling them to traverse the otherwise inhospitable dry season. Environmental cues that potentially indicate the season can govern whether eggs enter a stage of diapause mid-way through development or skip this diapause and instea...

The African turquoise killifish: A research organism to study vertebrate aging and diapause.

The African turquoise killifish has recently gained significant traction as a new research organism in the aging field. Our understanding of aging has strongly benefited from canonical research organisms-yeast, C. elegans, Drosophila, zebrafish, and mice. Many characteristics that are essential to understand aging-for example, the adaptive immune system or the hypothalamo-pituitary axis-are onl...

Comparative transcriptomics reveal candidate genes involved in the adaptation to non-marine habitats in panpulmonate mollusks