Tathagata Biswas, PhD - Postdoctoral Research

Postdoctoral Research

The fish Astyanax mexicanus are found in the wild in two distinct morphs - the regular river dwelling surface fish and the cavefish. The cave morphs evolved rapidly after colonizing the dark caves of Mexico and eventually thrived in complete darkness and extreme nutrient deprived conditions. The cavefish have lost their eyes in the darkness and are capable of withstanding long periods of starvation to cope with lack of food in the caves. The cavefish also exhibit higher blood glucose levels when compared to the surface fish. Interestingly, the cave morphs have evolved in multiple separate caves and exhibit parallel evolution of similar metabolic and morphological features. I use cavefish as a model to decipher mechanisms of evolution of such unique metabolic and morphological traits. My major projects are:

Projects

Role of 3D Genomic organization in metabolic adaptation

The genomic DNA is a long polymer, which is efficiently packaged inside the 3D space of a tiny nuclei. The way the genome is packaged is associated with its functionality. I am investigating how the way the genome is packaged sculpts cavefish metabolic evolution. I use cavefish and the ancestral river dwelling surface fish livers, to understand the relation between 3D genome packaging and unique metabolic evolution.

Molecular basis of loss of vision in cavefish

The cavefish have lost their eyes. However, right after fertilization, the eye development in cavefish proceeds normally, when compared to the surface counterpart. It is only after 24hrs of fertilization, the eye starts degenerating. I am studying eye loss in cavefish as a natural model to explore eye and retinal degeneration and associated developmental changes that emanate due to eye loss.