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SUMMARY:Exploring variation in neural crest development among East African
  cichlid fishes     - Aleksandra Marconi (Zoology Department\, Santos lab)
  
DTSTART:20220613T133000Z
DTEND:20220613T143000Z
UID:TALK173234@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Elena Scarpa
DESCRIPTION:he cichlid fishes comprise the largest extant vertebrate famil
 y and are the quintessential example of rapid “explosive” adaptive rad
 iations and phenotypic diversifications. Despite the relative genomic homo
 geneity\, cichlids harbour a spectacular intra- and interspecific diversit
 y in morphology\, behaviour\, and ecological specialisation. Akin to other
  vertebrates\, a considerable proportion of cichlid phenotypic diversity i
 nvolves structures derived from a common progenitor cell population - the 
 neural crest (NC). These include distinctive pigmentation patterns and a v
 ast variation in craniofacial morphologies. \n\nTo investigate the role of
  NC in morphological evolution of East African cichlids\, we compared the 
 embryonic and NC development between three phenotypically divergent cichli
 d species (Astatotilapia calliptera\, Rhamphochromis sp. ‘chilingali’ 
 and Tropheops sp. ‘mauve’) endemic to Lake Malawi and its basin. Our r
 esults revealed interspecific variability in many features of embryogenesi
 s that could potentially influence the concomitant formation of the NC and
  its derivatives. By investigating the migratory behaviour of NC cells acr
 oss their ontogeny\, we identified striking temporal and spatial variation
 . To further explore the differences in morphogenesis of the NC\, we are c
 ombining novel 3D morphometrics approaches with transcriptomic and regulat
 ory analyses at most divergent stages of NC development between the study 
 species. \n\n 
LOCATION:Online
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