An Evaluation of the Role of Sensory Drive in the Evolution of Lake Malawi Cichlid Fishes

Figure 5

Gene expression patterns for fishes raised under laboratory conditions. Aulonocara baenschi and Melanochromis auratus both represent a primary medium-wavelength sensitive palette (SWS2B, RH2B, RH2A) in the wild. A. baenschi retains this template in the lab, while M. auratus develops substantial quantitative variation in LWS expression. Metriaclima lombardoi represents a short-wavelength sensitive palette (SWS1, RH2B, RH2A) in the wild but displays substantial variation in the expression of both the SWS2B and LWS genes in the laboratory. Furthermore, expression patterns for M. lombardoi in the lab are influenced by whether the fish are raised under fluorescent lighting or simulated sunlight. The SWS2A gene was omitted because it is not expressed in any of the groups depicted. Relative opsin expression represents the gene expression measure for each cone opsin gene normalized to the total measured opsin expression. Error bars indicate group standard deviations.