Gene-expression signatures of Atlantic salmon’s plastic life cycle

• Published in: General and Comparative Endocrinology
• Main Authors: Aubin-Horth, Nadia, Letcher, Benjamin H., Hofmann, Hans A.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: Article; Atlantic salmon
• Online Access: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2706306; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19401203; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ygcen.2009.04.021

How genomic expression differs as a function of life history variation is largely unknown. Atlantic salmon exhibits extreme alternative life histories. We defined the gene-expression signatures of wild-caught salmon at two different life stages by comparing the brain expression profiles of mature sneaker males and immature males, and early migrants and late migrants. In addition to life-stage-specific signatures, we discovered a surprisingly large gene set that was differentially regulated - at similar magnitudes, yet in opposite direction - in both life history transitions. We suggest that this co-variation is not a consequence of many independent cellular and molecular switches in the same direction but rather represents the molecular equivalent of a physiological shift orchestrated by one or very few master regulators.