Embryonic Development of the Annual Killifish Austrofundulus limnaeus: An Emerging Model for Ecological and Evolutionary Developmental Biology Research and Instruction

Authors

Jason E. Podrabsky, Portland State UniversityFollow
Claire L. Riggs, Portland State UniversityFollow
Amie L. Romney, Portland State UniversityFollow
S. Cody Woll, Portland State UniversityFollow
Josiah T. Wagner, Portland State UniversityFollow
Kristin M. Culpepper, Portland State University
Timothy Grant Cleaver, Portland State University

Sponsor

The National Science Foundation; Grant number: IOS-1354549.

Published In

Developmental Dynamics

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2017

Subjects

Killifishes -- Embryology, Developmental biology, Killifishes -- Genomics -- Effect of environment on

Abstract

Background: Austrofundulus limnaeus is an annual killifish from the Maracaibo basin of Venezuela. Annual killifishes are unique among vertebrates in their ability to enter into a state of dormancy at up to three distinct developmental stages termed diapause I, II, and III. These embryos are tolerant of a wide variety of environmental stresses and develop relatively slowly compared with nonannual fishes.

Results: These traits make them an excellent model for research on interactions between the genome and the environment during development, and an excellent choice for developmental biology laboratories. Furthermore, A. limnaeus is relatively easy to maintain in a laboratory setting and has a high fecundity, making it an excellent candidate as an emerging model for studies of development, and for defining the limits of developmental buffering in vertebrates.

Conclusions: This study reports for the first time on the detailed development of A. limnaeus and provides a photographic and illustrated atlas of embryos on the two developmental trajectories possible in this species.

Description

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

DOI

10.1002/DVDY.24513

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/22538

Citation Details

Podrabsky, J. E., Riggs, C. L., Romney, A. L., Woll, S. C., Wagner, J. T., Culpepper, K. M., & Cleaver, T. G. (2017). Embryonic development of the annual killifish Austrofundulus limnaeus: An emerging model for ecological and evolutionary developmental biology research and instruction. Developmental Dynamics.