A high-density linksage map for Astyanax mexicanus using genotyping-by-sequencing technology

Author

Brian M. Carlson
Samuel W. Onusko
Joshua B. Gross

Files

Publication Date

February 2015

Abstract

The Mexican tetra, Astyanax mexicanus, is a unique model system consisting of cave-adapted and surface-dwelling morphotypes that diverged >1 million years (My) ago. This remarkable natural experiment has enabled powerful genetic analyses of cave adaptation. Here, we describe the application of next-generation sequencing technology to the creation of a high-density linksage map. Our map comprises more than 2200 markers populating 25 linksage groups constructed from genotypic data generated from a single genotyping-by-sequencing project. We leveraged emergent genomic and transcriptomic resources to anchor hundreds of anonymous Astyanax markers to the genome of the zebrafish (Danio rerio), the most closely related model organism to our study species. This facilitated the identification of 784 distinct connections between our linksage map and the Danio rerio genome, highlighting several regions of conserved genomic architecture between the two species despite ∼150 My of divergence. Using a Mendelian cave-associated trait as a proof-of-principle, we successfully recovered the genomic position of the albinism locus near the gene Oca2. Further, our map successfully informed the positions of unplaced Astyanax genomic scaffolds within particular linksage groups. This ability to identify the relative location, orientation, and linear order of unaligned genomic scaffolds will facilitate ongoing efforts to improve on the current early draft and assemble future versions of the Astyanax physical genome. Moreover, this improved linksage map will enable higher-resolution genetic analyses and catalyze the discovery of the genetic basis for cave-associated phenotypes.

Keywords

Next Generation Sequencing, Qtl Analysis, Blind Mexican Cave Tetra, Regressive Phenotypic Evolution

Document Type

Article

Notes

Genes Genomes Genet, Vol. 5, no. 2 (2015-02-06).

Identifier

K26-05220

Recommended Citation

Carlson, Brian M.; Onusko, Samuel W.; and Gross, Joshua B., "A high-density linksage map for Astyanax mexicanus using genotyping-by-sequencing technology" (2015). KIP Articles. 2456.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/kip_articles/2456