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Article: UBC researchers find first-ever 'wanderlust gene' in tiny bony fish.
- Article from:
- NewsRx Health & Science
- Article date:
- August 23, 2009
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A gene previously associated with physical traits is also dictating behaviour in a tiny fish widely regarded as a living model of Darwin's natural selection theory, according to a University of British Columbia study.
Measuring three to 10 centimetres, stickleback fish originated in the ocean but began populating freshwater lakes and streams following the last ice age. Over the past 15,000 years, freshwater sticklebacks have lost their bony lateral plates, or "armour," in these new environments. Scientists have identified a mutant form of a gene, or allele, that prohibits growth of armour and is commonly found in freshwater sticklebacks but exists in less than ...