title: Evolution and development of facial bone morphology in threespine sticklebacks.
abstract: How do developmental mechanisms evolve to control changing skeletal morphology, the shapes and sizes of individual bones? We address this question with studies of the opercle (OP), a large facial bone that has undergone marked morphological evolution in the ray-finned fish. Attributes for developmental analysis motivated us to examine how OP shape and size evolve and develop in threespine sticklebacks, a model system for understanding vertebrate evolution. We find that when Alaskan anadromous fish take up permanent residence in lakes, they evolve smaller and reshaped OPs. The change is a reduction in the amount of bone laid down along one body axis, and it arises at or shortly after the onset of OP development. A quantitative trait locus is present on linkage group 19 that contributes in a major way to this phenotype.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience and Center for Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA.
authors.forename: Charles B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Kimmel
authors.forename: Bonnie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ullmann
authors.forename: Charline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Currey
authors.forename: Patrick C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.forename: John H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Postlethwait
authors.forename: William A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Cresko
mesh_terms: D000413:Alaska; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D001846:Bone Development; D005147:Facial Bones / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D009024:Morphogenesis; D010641:Phenotype; D023701:Smegmamorpha / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000235:genetics*