Electric Organ Discharge Diversification in Mormyrid Weakly Electric Fish is Associated with Differential Expression of Voltage-gated Ion Channel Genes

Overview

Journal J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol

Publisher Springer

Specialties Neurology
Social Sciences

Date 2017 Feb 25

PMID 28233058

Citations 12

Authors

Rebecca Nagel

Frank Kirschbaum

Ralph Tiedemann

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

In mormyrid weakly electric fish, the electric organ discharge (EOD) is used for species recognition, orientation and prey localization. Produced in the muscle-derived adult electric organ, the EOD exhibits a wide diversity across species in both waveform and duration. While certain defining EOD characteristics can be linked to anatomical features of the electric organ, many factors underlying EOD differentiation are yet unknown. Here, we report the differential expression of 13 Kv1 voltage-gated potassium channel genes, two inwardly rectifying potassium channel genes, two previously studied sodium channel genes and an ATPase pump in two sympatric species of the genus Campylomormyrus in both the adult electric organ and skeletal muscle. Campylomormyrus compressirostris displays a basal EOD, largely unchanged during development, while C. tshokwe has an elongated, putatively derived discharge. We report an upregulation in all Kv1 genes in the electric organ of Campylomormyrus tshokwe when compared to both skeletal muscle and C. compressirostris electric organ. This pattern of upregulation in a species with a derived EOD form suggests that voltage-gated potassium channels are potentially involved in the diversification of the EOD signal among mormyrid weakly electric fish.

Citing Articles

Organization of the stalk system on electrocytes in mormyrid weakly electric fish Campylomormyrus compressirostris.

Baumann O, Cheng F, Kirschbaum F, Tiedemann R Cell Tissue Res. 2024; 399(2):193-209.

PMID: 39704840 PMC: 11787269. DOI: 10.1007/s00441-024-03938-y.

Gene and Allele-Specific Expression Underlying the Electric Signal Divergence in African Weakly Electric Fish.

Cheng F, Dennis A, Baumann O, Kirschbaum F, Abdelilah-Seyfried S, Tiedemann R Mol Biol Evol. 2024; 41(2).

PMID: 38410843 PMC: 10897887. DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msae021.

A new genome assembly of an African weakly electric fish (Campylomormyrus compressirostris, Mormyridae) indicates rapid gene family evolution in Osteoglossomorpha.

Cheng F, Dennis A, Osuoha J, Canitz J, Kirschbaum F, Tiedemann R BMC Genomics. 2023; 24(1):129.

PMID: 36941548 PMC: 10029256. DOI: 10.1186/s12864-023-09196-6.

Vocal and Electric Fish: Revisiting a Comparison of Two Teleost Models in the Neuroethology of Social Behavior.

Dunlap K, Koukos H, Chagnaud B, Zakon H, Bass A Front Neural Circuits. 2021; 15:713105.

PMID: 34489647 PMC: 8418312. DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2021.713105.

Transcriptome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms related to electric organ discharge differentiation among African weakly electric fish species.

Canitz J, Kirschbaum F, Tiedemann R PLoS One. 2020; 15(10):e0240812.

PMID: 33108393 PMC: 7591079. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0240812.

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