Aaron H Griffing1, Thomas J Sanger2, Juan D Daza3, Stuart V Nielsen4, Brendan J Pinto1, Edward L Stanley4, Tony Gamble1,5,6. 1. Department of Biological Sciences, Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 2. Department of Biology, Loyola University in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. 3. Department of Biological Sciences, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas. 4. Department of Herpetology, Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, Florida. 5. Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 6. Bell Museum of Natural History, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: One goal of evolutionary developmental biology is to understand the role of development in the origin of phenotypic novelty and convergent evolution. Geckos are an ideal system to study this topic, as they are species-rich and exhibit a suite of diverse morphologies-many of which have independently evolved multiple times within geckos. RESULTS: We characterized and discretized the embryonic development of Lepidodactylus lugubris-an all-female, parthenogenetic gecko species. We also used soft-tissue μCT to characterize the development of the brain and central nervous system, which is difficult to visualize using traditional microscopy techniques. Additionally, we sequenced and assembled a de novo transcriptome for a late-stage embryo as a resource for generating future developmental tools. Herein, we describe the derived and conserved patterns of L. lugubris development in the context of squamate evolution and development. CONCLUSIONS: This embryonic staging series, μCT data, and transcriptome together serve as critical enabling resources to study morphological evolution and development, the evolution and development of parthenogenesis, and other questions concerning vertebrate evolution and development in an emerging gecko model.
BACKGROUND: One goal of evolutionary developmental biology is to understand the role of development in the origin of phenotypic novelty and convergent evolution. Geckos are an ideal system to study this topic, as they are species-rich and exhibit a suite of diverse morphologies-many of which have independently evolved multiple times within geckos. RESULTS: We characterized and discretized the embryonic development of Lepidodactylus lugubris-an all-female, parthenogenetic gecko species. We also used soft-tissue μCT to characterize the development of the brain and central nervous system, which is difficult to visualize using traditional microscopy techniques. Additionally, we sequenced and assembled a de novo transcriptome for a late-stage embryo as a resource for generating future developmental tools. Herein, we describe the derived and conserved patterns of L. lugubris development in the context of squamate evolution and development. CONCLUSIONS: This embryonic staging series, μCT data, and transcriptome together serve as critical enabling resources to study morphological evolution and development, the evolution and development of parthenogenesis, and other questions concerning vertebrate evolution and development in an emerging gecko model.
Authors: Aaron H Griffing; Thomas J Sanger; Lilian Epperlein; Aaron M Bauer; Anthony Cobos; Timothy E Higham; Emily Naylor; Tony Gamble Journal: Proc Biol Sci Date: 2021-06-16 Impact factor: 5.530