REVIEW
published: 25 March 2021
doi: 10.3389/fevo.2021.613157
The Fish Family Poeciliidae as a
Model to Study the Evolution and
Diversification of Regenerative
Capacity in Vertebrates
Diego Safian 1,2 , Geert F. Wiegertjes 1 and Bart J. A. Pollux 2*
1
2
Edited by:
Wayne Iwan Lee Davies,
Umeå University, Sweden
Reviewed by:
Jennifer Rodger,
University of Western Australia,
Australia
David Bierbach,
Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater
Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB),
Germany
*Correspondence:
Bart J. A. Pollux
bart.pollux@wur.nl
Specialty section:
This article was submitted to
Behavioral and Evolutionary Ecology,
a section of the journal
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Received: 01 October 2020
Accepted: 01 March 2021
Published: 25 March 2021
Citation:
Safian D, Wiegertjes GF and
Pollux BJA (2021) The Fish Family
Poeciliidae as a Model to Study
the Evolution and Diversification
of Regenerative Capacity
in Vertebrates.
Front. Ecol. Evol. 9:613157.
doi: 10.3389/fevo.2021.613157
Aquaculture and Fisheries Group, Department of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University, Wageningen, Netherlands,
Experimental Zoology Group, Department of Animal Sciences, Wageningen University, Wageningen, Netherlands
The capacity of regenerating a new structure after losing an old one is a major
challenge in the animal kingdom. Fish have emerged as an interesting model to
study regeneration due to their high and diverse regenerative capacity. To date, most
efforts have focused on revealing the mechanisms underlying fin regeneration, but
information on why and how this capacity evolves remains incomplete. Here, we
propose the livebearing fish family Poeciliidae as a promising new model system to
study the evolution of fin regeneration. First, we review the current state of knowledge
on the evolution of regeneration in the animal kingdom, with a special emphasis
on fish fins. Second, we summarize recent advances in our understanding of the
mechanisms behind fin regeneration in fish. Third, we discuss potential evolutionary
pressures that may modulate the regenerative capacity of fish fins and propose three
new theories for how natural and sexual selection can lead to the evolution of fin
regeneration: (1) signaling-driven fin regeneration, (2) predation-driven fin regeneration,
and (3) matrotrophy-suppressed fin regeneration. Finally, we argue that fish from the
family Poeciliidae are an excellent model system to test these theories, because they
comprise of a large variety of species in a well-defined phylogenetic framework that
inhabit very different environments and display remarkable variation in reproductive
traits, allowing for comparative studies of fin regeneration among closely related
species, among populations within species or among individuals within populations.
This new model system has the potential to shed new light on the underlying genetic
and molecular mechanisms driving the evolution and diversification of regeneration
in vertebrates.
Keywords: Poeciliidae, evolution, fin, regeneration, diversification
INTRODUCTION
Regeneration is one of the most intriguing phenomena in nature. In the last decades,
the capacity of regenerating a damaged or lost structure has been a central interest for
scientists. Understanding this process may potentially lead to new treatments of medical
problems involving tissue damage, such as injuries, cancer, aging and disease (Mao and
Mooney, 2015), but also represents an interesting case of study for developmental and
evolutionary research. Regeneration is a complex process that involves the regulation
of different cell types and reports have shown that it can recapitulate cellular and
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first is that the regenerative capacity becomes restricted as the
individual keeps developing, due to a reduction of cellular
plasticity. This is especially relevant for those regenerative
processes that require dedifferentiation or transdifferentiation of
local, post-mitotic cells, which again must enter into a new cell
cycle to lose their identity, divide and differentiate. Galis et al.
(2003) proposed that regeneration is only possible for structures
that during embryogenesis develop independently of transient
organs. They argued, for example, that limb regeneration in
amniotes is not possible because embryonic limb development
requires the support of interacting signals from the somites,
which are no longer present during adulthood. (2) Another
possibility is that other vital processes such as growth and
reproduction become favored over regeneration, increasing the
threshold for investment into regeneration. In these cases,
regeneration could simply be too costly to occur (Box 1),
especially if the missing tissue is dispensable for survival.
In these animals, regeneration is a maladaptive trait that is
selected against. (3) Finally, environmental conditions such as
temperature and food availability may modulate the ability to
regenerate a damaged tissue. Intriguingly, a recent study by
Hirose et al. (2019) suggests that the ability to regenerate heart
tissue might be modified during the evolutionary transition
from exothermy to endothermy. This study showed that heart
regeneration competence is associated with low number of
polyploid cardiomyocyte in 41 vertebrate species (Hirose et al.,
2019). In addition, it also revealed that thyroid hormone
signaling (which is involved in regulating corporal temperature
and is produced in higher levels in endotherms) increased
cardiomyocyte polyploidization and inhibited heart regeneration
in newborn mice. Remarkably, thyroid hormones conserved
their inhibitory capacity in adult zebrafish, a species with high
heart regenerative capacity but naturally low levels of thyroid
hormones (Hirose et al., 2019). This study provides the first
empirical evidence in support of the idea that habitat adaptation
can shape the evolutionary trajectory of the regenerative capacity.
It is clear that internal and external cues converge to modulate
an organism’s regenerative ability and that these can be as
diverse as the animal kingdom. Among regenerative species, fish
have become an interesting system to study regeneration due
to their restorative potential. Fins, in particular, are increasingly
recognized as a relevant model to understand the factors shaping
regenerative capacity, because next to their primary function
(i.e., swimming) (i), fins are often fundamental for secondary
functions that directly impact fitness (e.g., swimming, feeding,
reproduction) and (ii) are (contrary to other regenerative tissues,
such as the heart and spinal cord) often directly exposed to biotic
and abiotic factors.
molecular processes that take place during early development
(Martin and Parkhurst, 2004; Ghosh et al., 2008). Remarkably,
this capacity is widespread in different phyla, yet regenerative
ability has diverged, being absent or restricted to specific tissues
or short time-windows after birth in many animal lineages
(Porrello et al., 2011).
Regeneration can be classified into three types: (1)
Physiological regeneration, which is tissue regeneration
that takes place under normal conditions, i.e., not in response
to injury. This is a continuous process that supports the
turnover of particular cells in a structure throughout the life of
a given organism, maintaining the tissue homeostasis (e.g., the
continuous replacement of cells in the epidermis and blood). (2)
Reparative regeneration, which refers to an organism’s capacity to
repair organs or tissues after a minor injury (e.g., healing of blood
vessels and skin cells after a cut). (3) Restorative regeneration (or
“true regeneration”), which consists of the capacity to regrow
a fully functional, scar-free structure after loss of that structure
(e.g., regeneration of limbs, tail, external gills and fins). Several
remarkable examples of restorative regeneration can be found in
nature from invertebrates to vertebrates. Flatworms (Planaria
sp.; Ivankovic et al., 2019) and polyps (Hydra sp.; Vogg et al.,
2019) are highly regenerative invertebrates that can regenerate
most of their structures after severe injuries. Some species
can even form an entirely new individual from a small body
fragment. This capacity is also present in vertebrates, but here
the regenerative capability is often reduced in extent or restricted
to specific structures (Galliot et al., 2017). For instance, many
lizards can regenerate a missing tail but fail in regenerating other
structures such as limbs (Alibardi and Toni, 2005). This review
will only address restorative regeneration to which, for the sake
of simplicity, we will hereafter refer to as “regeneration.”
EVOLUTIONARY ORIGINS OF
REGENERATION: A LONG-STANDING
OPEN QUESTION
One of the more intriguing questions regarding regeneration is
how this trait has evolved in different lineages. It is clear that
regeneration ability is widely distributed in several phyla, but
the origin of this capability remains to be determined. Based
on the general similarity in the regenerative program such as
induction of wound epidermis and involvement of similar cell
signals controlling the process (e.g., Wnt, Fgf, and Bmps) in
distant taxa, it has been hypothesized that regeneration perhaps
arose in early animals as an epiphenomenon of development
and was subsequently lost several times in different lineages
(Bely and Nyberg, 2010; Galis et al., 2018). However, the cellular
mechanisms that underlie the regeneration program can be
remarkably diverse, suggesting that perhaps regeneration is not
an ancestral trait but that instead it represents a novel innovation
that has evolved independently many times in different phyla as
an adaptive trait (Tiozzo and Copley, 2015).
Although it is not clear yet how regeneration evolves, three
potential causes have been proposed to explain a lack of, or
reduced, regenerative ability in animals (Bely, 2010): (1) The
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FISH FINS AS A MODEL SYSTEM TO
STUDY REGENERATION
Traditionally, a limited number of model species have been
used to study regeneration. Yet, in the recent years, important
efforts have been made to expand the diversity of animals
used in regeneration research, including species from distantly
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BOX 1 | Immune system and fin regeneration.
After an injury, non-regenerative species respond by forming a scar that rapidly closes the wounded area without regenerating the lost structure. Regenerative
organisms, on the other hand, are able to form a wound epidermis that is compatible with regeneration. It has been argued that (the absence of) an immune
response is crucial to determine the type of repair response. Therefore, the evolution of a more efficient immune system (immune competence) has been linked to
the loss of regeneration in several advanced taxonomic groups (Alibardi, 2017; Julier et al., 2017).
Injuries almost always induce a response from the immune system. First, cells of the innate immune system such as neutrophils and macrophages provide a
rapid defense against potential pathogens invading the damaged tissue. Neutrophils are the first immune cell to respond to the open wound; however, these
granulocytes appear to be dispensable for fin regeneration (Li et al., 2012). In contrast, macrophages play a predominant role in the restoration of tissue homeostasis
and the timely presence of macrophage subtypes seem to be relevant during different stages of appendage regeneration (Godwin et al., 2013; Petrie et al., 2014;
Paredes et al., 2019). In zebrafish, Nguyen-Chi et al. (2017) reported that the two most apparent subtypes of macrophages, pro-inflammatory (M1) and
anti-inflammatory (M2), actively participate during fin regeneration and that caudal fin amputation in larval zebrafish induced an early inflammatory response
characterized by an accumulation of both subtypes of macrophages. This accumulation would eventually result in an increase of macrophage-derived tumor
necrosis factor alpha (Tnfa), which in turn further promotes the recruitment of more macrophages and participates in the initiation of blastema cell proliferation
(Nguyen-Chi et al., 2017). Upon this early signal, M2 macrophages remained high in number while the M1 macrophage population decreased in the wound area,
suggesting that M2 macrophages are likely involved in the remodeling of cells during fin regeneration (Nguyen-Chi et al., 2017). This idea is further supported by
recent studies on adult zebrafish showing that macrophages are capable of attenuating inflammation after injuries (Hasegawa et al., 2017) and that macrophage
accumulation within the regenerating tissue is needed for proper fin regeneration, in line with a pro-regenerative gene profile (i.e., expression of genes associated
with blood vessel development, leukocyte migration, and regulation of the inflammatory response) (Sanz-Morejón et al., 2019). In addition, it has been proposed that
a population of tissue-resident macrophages contributes in regenerating fin after injury (Morales and Allende, 2019). Interestingly, the responses of macrophages and
neutrophils in zebrafish seem to be dependent on the type of fin injuries i.e., while thermally induced wounds were resolved by regeneration, infected wounds lead to
persistent inflammation and minimal tissue repair, suggesting that a more robust immune response (as induced by bacterial infection) restricted the extent of
regeneration (Miskolci et al., 2019).
The adaptative immune system also participates in the regenerative process, but this response is typically slower and probably associated with maintaining
tissue homeostasis during the regenerative process. A specialized group of T cells, the regulatory T cells (Treg ), are particularly relevant to tissue regeneration, at least
in mammals: Treg stimulate self-tolerance, prevent autoimmune and autoinflammatory disorders, and contain excessive inflammatory responses to infection and
tissue damage by modulating the activity of effector cells of the immune system (Josefowicz et al., 2012). Additionally, tissue-specific Treg with proficiency in
controlling tissue homeostasis and repair have been identified in mammals (Sharma and Rudra, 2018). In fish, Treg have also been identified with apparent
conservation of many of the functions reported for higher vertebrates (Sugimoto et al., 2017). Zebrafish Treg rapidly migrate and infiltrate the damaged organs, while
conditional ablation of this cell type in adult zebrafish blocked tissue regeneration by impairing proliferation of blastemal cells (Hui et al., 2017; Zwi et al., 2019).
Different to its role in tissue/wound healing, other components of the adaptive immune system have not been directly linked to fin regeneration capacity, yet should
not be disregarded as, in other vertebrates, several of these components are present in the blastema during limb regeneration (Leigh et al., 2018).
phyla such as Platyhelminthes (e.g., Schmidtea mediterranea;
Ivankovic et al., 2019), Cnidaria (e.g., Hydra vulgaris; Vogg
et al., 2019), Arthropoda (e.g., Drosophila melanogaster; Fox
et al., 2020), Echinodermata (e.g., Patiria miniata; Cary et al.,
2019) and Chordata, which include species from different class
such as Actinopterygii (e.g., zebrafish; Marques et al., 2019),
Amphibia (e.g., Xenopus leavis and Ambystoma mexicanum;
Joven et al., 2019; Phipps et al., 2020), Reptilia (e.g., Podarcis
muralis; Alibardi, 2017) and Mammalia (e.g., Acomys cahirinus;
class Mammalia; Maden and Varholick, 2020).
Comparative studies on more closely related animals that have
diverse regenerative capacities in a well-defined phylogenetic
framework are likely to shed further light on the evolution of
this trait and the selective pressures that favor it. In this context,
fishes represent an excellent system to study the evolution
of regeneration. Fishes are an extraordinary diverse group of
animals (Hughes et al., 2018) and several studies have reported
on the presence of regenerative properties of several different
tissues, such as the heart, spinal cord, brain, liver, and fins
(Gemberling et al., 2013). For example, all bony fishes (Superclass
Osteichthyes) that have been studied so far have shown at least
some degree of fin regeneration. However, while homomorphic
(complete) fin regeneration has been reported in lobe-finned
fishes (class Sarcopterygii) and the early ray-finned fish lineages
(class Actinopterygii; e.g., Polypteriformes, Lepisosteiformes,
Cypriniformes, Esociformes, and Salmoniformes; Figure 1,
blue branches), heteromorphic or incomplete fin regeneration
(i.e., resulting in an unfinished, abnormal fin shape) has
additionally been found in the more recent lineages (Neotelesots,
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i.e., Cichliformes, Cyprinodontiformes, Perciformes, and
Scorpaeniformes; Figure 1, red branches) (Wagner and Misof,
1992; Cuervo et al., 2012; Darnet et al., 2019), suggesting that the
regenerative capacity has been reduced in these latter groups. Yet,
a broader study addressing the causes and underlying molecular
mechanism of homo- and heteromorphic fin regeneration is
currently missing.
General Fin Organization in Fish
Fish fins fulfill key functions (e.g., during escaping from
predators, capturing prey and reproduction) that directly impact
fitness and, hence, are subject to strong natural and sexual
selection (Fu et al., 2013; Pollux et al., 2014; Price et al., 2015). Fish
fins can be grouped into single fins (i.e., dorsal, anal and caudal
fin) and paired fins (i.e., pectoral and pelvic fins) (Figure 2). Fins
are supported in the basal segment by an endoskeleton. Typically,
this endoskeleton in paired fins consists of vertebra-independent
skeletal muscle and bones, called proximal radials, arranged
side by side along the anterior-posterior axis, followed by small
nodular distal radials (Figure 2). In contrast, the endoskeleton
of the single fins is coupled directly to bones of the vertebra or
via neural spines that extend from the vertebral bones. Despite
these differences in the endoskeleton, in both paired and single
fins the dermal skeleton is composed of several segmented rays
surrounded by soft inter-ray tissue, lacking muscle and cartilage
(Figure 2). During fish growth, the dermal skeleton increases in
length through the addition of new segments in the most distal
part of the fin, which initially forms as a thin and soft tissue that
becomes thicker and mineralized as the fin increases in length
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FIGURE 1 | Schematic representation of type of fin regeneration in different fish lineages. Topology of phylogenetic tree showing the distribution of homo- and
heteromorphic fin regeneration in the class Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fishes) and different orders of the class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes). Lineages with reports
of homomorphic fin regeneration are highlighted in blue, while lineages with evidence for homo- and heteromorphic fin regeneration are highlighted in red (Wagner
and Misof, 1992; Cuervo et al., 2012; Darnet et al., 2019). Numbers after nodes represent the estimated time (in millions of years, myr) since the emergence of the
new lineage.
as teleosts (e.g., Amatitlania nigrofasciata, Astronotus ocellatus,
and Carassius auratus) can also regenerate the endoskeleton
(Darnet et al., 2019).
(Goldsmith et al., 2006). Remarkably, both the endoskeleton and
dermal skeleton have shown regenerative capacity in fish.
Endoskeleton
Dermal Skeleton
Complete appendage regeneration has been observed in both
lobe-finned fishes (class Sarcopterygii) and ray-finned fishes
(class Actinopterygii) and recent studies suggest that these share
a conserved regenerative program to repair the endoskeleton
(Nogueira et al., 2016; Darnet et al., 2019). The early rayfinned Polypterus senegalus and P. ornatipinnis have a remarkable
capacity to regenerate endoskeleton fins, showing complete
regeneration within 1 month after proximal amputations
(Cuervo et al., 2012). A blastema (mass of proliferating
progenitor cells) is formed within 3 days post-amputation (dpa)
to later give rise to a basal apical epidermis that borders the
blastema in an anterior–posterior direction (Cuervo et al., 2012).
This apical epidermis rapidly expands and bends toward the
dorsal side, thereby giving rise to the fin fold that will develop into
the endoskeleton (Cuervo et al., 2012). Cartilage differentiation
is observed early in the expected bone formation area (9 dpa).
A cartilaginous plate is formed, in which thickened margin
predicts the differentiation of long bones, whereas radials emerge
by splitting of the cartilaginous plate (Cuervo et al., 2012). Recent
work has shown that other more recent ray-finned fish such
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Since the endoskeleton precedes dermal skeleton regeneration,
one might predict that this latter capacity is a continuation
of the former. However, a recent study showed that the
capacity of regenerating the first does not necessarily guarantee
dermal skeleton regeneration (Pápai et al., 2019), opening the
possibility that different systems regulate the regeneration of
both structures. The molecular mechanism underlying dermal
skeleton regeneration has been extensively studied in zebrafish
and its relevance and latest advances have been discussed recently
by Marques et al. (2019) and Sehring and Weidinger (2020).
Therefore, in this review we will only briefly describe this process.
Similar to the regeneration of other appendages, dermal fin
regeneration relies on a blastema to repair the lost tissue (Pfefferli
and Jaźwiñska, 2015; Figure 3). Cells in the apical segment of
the new and growing appendage maintain their undifferentiated
stages, while blastema descendent cells differentiate into the
new tissue (Pfefferli and Jaźwiñska, 2015). Therefore, a delicate
balance between self-renewal and differentiation of progenitor
cells is required to succeed. It has been proposed that this balance
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et al., 2005). The genetic and molecular mechanism controlling
positional memory during fin regeneration is still unclear, but
two main models have been proposed. (i) The “growth factorbase model” indicates that the levels of morphogens control fin
length growth (Lee et al., 2005), while (ii) the recently proposed
“niche size model” suggests that the numbers of niches harboring
progenitor cells that support the blastema progressively decrease
from the most proximal to the most distal part of the fins
(Stewart et al., 2019). Although more work needs to be done in
order to fully understand the mechanism of positional memory
(Wang et al., 2019), it is clear that regenerative capacity relies on
blastema cell proliferation and locally produced growth factors,
which in turn can modulate the growth rate and accuracy of fin
regeneration (Lee et al., 2005; Blum and Begemann, 2012; Stewart
et al., 2014, 2019).
HYPOTHESES FOR THE EVOLUTION OF
FIN REGENERATION IN THE FISH
FAMILY POECILIIDAE
The Family Poeciliidae as a Model to
Study Regeneration
FIGURE 2 | Sexual and natural selection have driven modifications in male fin
morphology and function in the fish family Poeciliidae. The different fins types
include the paired pectoral fins and the single dorsal, caudal and anal (in
males modified into a copulatory organ called the gonopodium) fins. The
dashed square inset shows the structure of archetypical fins in Actinopterygii
(ray-finned) fishes highlighting the endoskeleton (in black; only present in
paired fins) and the dermal skeleton or exoskeleton (present in both paired
and single fins).
The fish family Poeciliidae (order Cyprinodontiformes) is a
diverse group of neotropical fish that consists of approximately
299 species in 27 genera (Lucinda, 2003). All species in the
family exhibit internal fertilization and all, save for one, are
viviparous (Furness et al., 2019), giving live-birth to fully
developed precocial offspring (Lankheet et al., 2016). Members of
this family, e.g., the guppy (Poecilia reticulata), mollies (subgenus
Mollienesia), swordtails and platies (genus Xiphophorus), are
commonly used in a wide variety of biological studies, ranging
from cancer research and toxicology to sexual selection, life
history evolution, genetics, ecology, and behavior (Ramsey et al.,
2011; Pollux et al., 2014; Culumber and Tobler, 2017; Tobler
et al., 2018; de Carvalho et al., 2019; McGowan et al., 2019;
Thomaz et al., 2019; Hagmayer et al., 2020). This is in part
because these fishes are easy to keep and breed in laboratory
conditions and partly because this family provides a welldefined phylogenetic framework (Furness et al., 2019), allowing
for comparative studies among closely related species with
contrasting lifestyles (e.g., inhabiting different environments,
displaying different forms of sexual selection, having different
modes of reproduction).
The evolution of this family has been strongly marked by
sexual and natural selection, resulting in great morphological
and behavioral diversity evidenced by the evolution of
ornamentation, specialized fins, courtship behavior and
dichromatism among others (Pollux et al., 2014; Furness et al.,
2019). Fins are a particularly important morphological feature
fulfilling many different secondary functions that directly
influence fitness (e.g., capturing prey, escaping predators,
attracting mates), and as such are also subject to strong selective
pressure. As a consequence, there is an extreme variation in fin
size and shape within and among poeciliid species (Figure 2).
Here, we argue that the regenerative capacity of fins is another,
is tightly regulated in the apical part of the blastema by Wnt
signaling system, which coordinates blastemal cell proliferation
and osteoblast maturation indirectly via downstream signals such
as retinoic acid, Igf and Bmp in zebrafish (Wehner et al., 2014;
Wehner and Weidinger, 2015; Figure 3).
As discussed earlier (under section “Fish fins as a model
system to study regeneration” and Figure 1), in some fish
groups regeneration has been reduced, showing heteromorphic
fin regeneration. Yet, one other striking feature of appendage
regeneration in the animal kingdom is the capacity of precisely
reassembling the lost structure: i.e., giving rise to a new structure
with precisely the same shape and size as the old structure after
an injury (Figure 3). In zebrafish, both small wounds and major
injuries, and even geometrically diverse cuts, in the fin result
in a new structure that is indistinct from the old one. The
predominant hypothesis to explain this process proposes that
cells must evolve a positional memory, triggering the appropriate
rate and extent of re-growth after injury. The remaining cells in
the wound area would conserve memory and instruct how much
and what type of cell programming will be required. Supporting
this hypothesis, transplantation experiments of fin rays from
the lobular caudal fin into a new position within the caudal
fin showed that fin rays grow to reach their expected length,
irrespective of the position of insertion (Shibata et al., 2018).
Additionally, despite regeneration being faster in injuries close
to a proximal position rather than in a distal position, both types
of injuries reached the original growth length in similar time (Lee
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FIGURE 3 | Regeneration of the dermal skeleton in fish fins after injury. (A) Uninjured fin. (B) The regenerative process starts with an open wound from a partially
amputated fin. (C) The open wound is rapidly closed by a wound epidermis (red line) within 1 day post amputation (dpa). (D) It is thought that wound epidermis
initiates the blastema formation (red area in the most distal area of the fin), where (E,F) blastema cells descend upon Wnt and downstream signaling, which induce
post-mitotic cells entering the cell cycle to proliferate (Prol.) and then differentiate (Diff.) to form the new tissue. (A) After 20–25 dpa, the newly regenerated fin is
finished, completely reassembling the original structure. The outgrowth rate and accuracy of regeneration (homo- or heteromorphic) can vary depending on the
species.
still overlooked feature of fins that is also subject to stringent
natural and sexual selection. Specifically, we predict that the
regenerative capability of a fin should be positively associated
with its functional importance.
If true, then we expect to find significant variation in
regenerative capability within or among Poeciliid species. Indeed,
the few studies that have been performed to date show differences
in the timing of blastema formation among Poeciliid species,
ranging from 1 to 2.5 dpa (Zauner et al., 2003; Murawala et al.,
2017), and full-length regeneration, ranging from 21 to 25 dpa
(Kolluru et al., 2006; Offen et al., 2008; Patel et al., 2019).
However, a systematic investigation of the regenerative abilities
across the Poeciliidae is not yet available. Moreover, comparative
studies that juxtapose closely related species (or populations
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within species) inhabiting different environments (e.g., predation
vs predation-free environments) or displaying different mating
strategies (e.g., courtship vs sexual harassment) with the aim of
identifying factors that drive the evolution of fin regeneration
are currently lacking. In the next sections, we propose three
new, empirically testable hypotheses for the evolution of fin
regeneration and offer ideas for how to test these using fish from
the family Poeciliidae (Figure 4).
Hypothesis 1. Signaling-Driven Fin
Regeneration
Sexual selection is an important evolutionary force influencing
phenotypes across the animal kingdom (Panhuis et al., 2001).
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FIGURE 4 | Hypotheses for the evolution of fin regeneration in the fish family Poeciliidae. (A) If fins play an important role in precopulatory sexual selection, then they
should be selected to have a faster and more accurate regeneration in males that rely in courtship. (B) If fins play an important role in predator evasion, then they
should be selected to have a faster and more complete regeneration when living in a high predation environment. (C) If reproduction and regeneration enter an
energetic conflict during pregnancy and a matrotrophic mode of reproduction is energetically more demanding than lecithotrophy, then matrotrophy should be
associated with a suppressed female capacity for fin regeneration during gestation.
In the Poeciliidae, male phenotypic traits play an important role
during precopulatory sexual selection. It is thought that sexual
selection may be responsible for the extraordinary diversity of
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male morphological traits in this family (Pollux et al., 2014;
Culumber and Tobler, 2017; Furness et al., 2019), explaining the
existence and elaboration of conspicuous sexually selected traits
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releasing spermatophores (Bisazza, 1993; Greven, 2005). In some
species, males use a conspicuously colored gonopodium during
courtship displays (e.g., Girardinus metallicus; Kolluru et al.,
2015). In other species, the length of the gonopodium is linked to
alternative mating tactics, with the combination of a small body
size and long gonopodium thought to facilitate sneak or coercive
mating (Bisazza, 1993; Bisazza and Pilastro, 1997; Pilastro et al.,
1997; Greven, 2005; Pollux et al., 2014). However, regardless of
their precise role in the mating process an intact gonopodium
is crucial for the successful transfer of spermatophores in every
poeciliid species (Evans et al., 2011; Devigili et al., 2015; Head
et al., 2017), suggesting that the regenerative capacity of the
gonopodium should be equally high in all species (and all
alternative mating phenotypes within species).
(Figure 2). Fins are thought to play a particularly important
role during mate selection (either during female mate choice or
male-male conflict) and mating tactics in several species (Jordan
et al., 2006; Kang et al., 2013; Goldberg et al., 2019). We propose
that in species where fins play a key role in courtship display,
sexual selection can drive the evolution of faster fin regeneration.
The idea is that if a particular fin plays an important role in a
species’ mate selection, then that fin should have a faster and
more complete (i.e., homomorphic) fin regeneration after being
damaged, compared to a species in which that fin does not play a
role in sexual selection (Figure 4A). Three fins in particular may
be subject to this signaling-driven fin regeneration: the caudal fin
(sword), dorsal fin and anal fin (gonopodium) (Figure 2).
Caudal Fin
Approaches to Test These Predictions
Some males in the genus Xiphophorus develop a pigmented and
elongated ventral extension of the caudal fin, forming a swordlike structure (Meyer, 1997). These species are fittingly referred to
as the Swordtails. An early study showed that female Xiphophorus
helleri preferred males with longer or intact fin tails over male
with smaller or surgically removed portion of caudal fins (Basolo,
1990a). These results were latter supported in another study by
Rosenthal and Evans (1998), in which females were presented
with computer-altered videos of males, showed that courting
males with intact swords were strongly preferred over courting
males in which portions of the sword had been computationally
erased frame-by-frame. Their study demonstrates the importance
of intact swords for a male’s mating success and, hence, highlights
the need for a fast and accurate fin regeneration program. Given
the importance of these swords in female mate choice one could
argue that swordtails should have a higher regenerative capacity
of the caudal fin compared to species that do not carry swords,
such as the closely related platies within the genus Xiphophorus.
The fish family Poeciliidae offers an excellent model system to
test the idea that signaling driven sexual selection has led to the
evolution of a faster regeneration of caudal and dorsal fins (but
not gonopodia) in species where they play a key role in female
mate choice. There are at least two well established approaches
that can be used to test these ideas in the Poeciliidae. The first
is by adopting a comparative phylogenetic approach in which
species with conspicuously swords or enlarged dorsal fins used
in courtship are compared to closely related species in which
these fins do not play a major role in female mate choice. In
particular, comparative studies with platies and swordtails in
the genus Xiphophorus (Meyer, 1997; Jones et al., 2013; Kang
et al., 2013), or “short-finned and sail-finned” (P. latpinna,
P. petenensis, and P. velifera) species in the genus Poecilia
(subgenus Mollienesia; Ptacek, 2005), could reveal interesting
differences in fin regeneration among species in association
with the function of these fins in courtship behavior. A second
potentially powerful approach available in the Poecillidae is by
comparing males within a single population that exhibit different
alternative mating tactics. Many poeciliid species show intraspecific alternative mating tactics, with larger males displaying
a different, often contrasting set of phenotypes and mating
strategies than smaller males (Constanz, 1975; Farr et al., 1986;
Ryan and Causey, 1989). Generally, larger males have a brighter
coloration, more conspicuous ornamental traits (e.g., dorsal fins
or swords) and courtship behavior to elicit cooperative mating,
while smaller males have a drab coloration (mimicking female
coloration), relatively smaller and less conspicuous ornaments
and a mating system characterized by coercive or sneak mating
(Farr et al., 1986; Ryan and Causey, 1989; Travis and Woodward,
1989; Ryan et al., 1992; Bisazza, 1993; Ptacek and Travis, 1996;
Becker et al., 2012; Furness et al., 2020). If the dorsal fin of
courters and sneakers indeed fulfills a different function, then
one could argue that the larger ornamental fin of courting males
should have a higher regenerative capability compared to the less
conspicuous fin of sneaker males.
Dorsal Fin
The males of several Poeciliid species use a conspicuous elongated
dorsal fin (Figure 2A) in erect-fin displays to females in the
context of courtship behavior (Farr et al., 1986; Travis and
Woodward, 1989; Ptacek and Travis, 1996; Goldberg et al., 2019)
or to conspecific males as an intimidating signal during malemale conflict (Bildsøe, 1988; Benson and Basolo, 2006; Prenter
et al., 2008; Goldberg et al., 2019). Recently, Goldberg et al. (2019)
studied the evolution of enlongated dorsal fins in males of the
subgenera Mollienesia and Limia (genus Poecilia). They argued
that these ornamental dorsal fins initially emerged as a tool for
male-male contests, but that they were later co-opted for male
displays during courtship. Regardless of the origin, it clear that
these dorsal fins are crucial for a male’s mating success (Basolo,
1990b, 1995; Jordan et al., 2006). This raises the possibility that
in species where the male’s dorsal fin plays an important role in
either courtship behavior or male-male conflict, sexual selection
may have favored the evolution of a faster and more complete
fin regeneration.
Anal Fin
Hypothesis 2. Predation-Driven Fin
Regeneration
All Poeciliid species exhibit internal fertilization, which is
achieved by males inserting their intromittent organ (referred
to as the gonopodium, Figure 2) into the female gonopore and
The evolution of species is driven by a combination of selection
pressures which vary across spatio-temporal scales shaping their
morphological, physiological and behavioral traits. It has been
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Fin Regeneration in the Poeciliidae
argued that predation may be an important evolutionary force
driving enhanced regeneration, because sublethal predation is
one of the most common reasons for experiencing structural
loss in nature (e.g., loss of limbs, tail, external gills, or fins).
While studies in invertebrates seem to provide some support to
this hypothesis (Baumiller and Gahn, 2004; Gahn and Baumiller,
2005; Berke et al., 2009), studies in vertebrates have not directly
evaluated the effect of predation on the regenerative competence
(e.g., regeneration rates, blastema formation and molecular
mechanisms controlling this process). Studies on the lizard
family Lacertidae for example have focused on the frequency
of tail autotomy (i.e., self-amputation), which is an interesting
phenomena that is enhanced under high predation risk (Fox
et al., 1994; Pafilis et al., 2009), but the effect of predation on the
subsequent regeneration of tails still remains to be evaluated.
an important role in escaping predators and fin damage
negatively affects the ability to escape predators, then a high
predation risk should select for a faster and more complete fin
regeneration (Figure 4B).
Approaches to Test This Hypothesis
To date, studies investigating a possible relationship between
predation risk and fin regeneration are absent in fish.
Interestingly, an early study by Broussonet (1789) reported
that the caudal fin of the goldfish (Carassius auratus) regenerates
faster than the ventral, pectoral and dorsal fins, which might
lead one to speculate that this is related to the functional
relevance of the caudal fin in swimming. Clearly, however,
further studies are needed. One way in which this idea can
be empirically tested in the Poeciliidae is by comparing the
regenerative capacity of the different fins in poeciliid populations
that have historically been exposed to different predation
levels. The Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata) undoubtedly
represents the best-known example of a study system that
includes clearly defined natural populations that live with and
without predators (e.g., Reznick, 1982, 1983; Reznick et al.,
1990, 1996, 1997, 2004; Magurran, 2005; Olendorf et al., 2006),
but similar “high and low predation populations” are found in
many other poeciliid species, e.g., in the genera Brachyrhapis
(Johnson and Belk, 2001; Johnson et al., 2009; Monterroso et al.,
2014), Gambusia (Langerhans et al., 2004; Langerhans, 2009),
Poeciliopsis (Hagmayer et al., 2020), and Xiphophorus (Basolo
and Wagner, 2004). If predation is driving the evolution of a
faster fin regeneration, then comparing wild-caught specimens
and their F1 and F2 progeny in a common-garden laboratory
environment will reveal consistent differences in fin regeneration
as a function of predation regime and the extent to which these
differences are heritable (Reznick, 1982; Reznick et al., 1990;
Reznick and Bryga, 1996).
Caudal and Pectoral Fins
In fish, swimming performance is a key component of
many common activities that are directly related to fitness,
such as avoiding predators, capturing prey, fighting, living
in a fast-flowing environment. The fish’s fins play a crucial
role in steering and thrust generation during locomotion.
Poeciliid fishes perform highly complex 3-dimensional escape
maneuvers, which are primarily generated by the caudal
peduncle and fin (Fleuren et al., 2018a,b, 2019). During fine
maneuvering (e.g., while feeding or steering through a complex
environment) they further rely on the synchronous use of the
paired pectoral fins to control speed and direction (Lankheet
et al., 2016). The importance of caudal and pectoral fins
during swimming suggests that they should be subject to
stringent evolutionary selection (Langerhans and Reznick, 2010;
Higham et al., 2016).
Predation Risk
Predation in particular is well-known for affecting numerous
behavioral, morphological and life-history traits of Poeciliid
fishes (Reznick and Endler, 1982; Reznick et al., 1990, 2004;
O’Steen et al., 2002; Burns et al., 2009; Kotrschal et al., 2017;
Hagmayer et al., 2020) and several studies have shown that
the presence of predators can influence the shape and size
of the caudal peduncle and fin (Gross, 1978; Winemiller,
1990; Langerhans et al., 2004; Hendry et al., 2006; Weber
et al., 2012; Price et al., 2015; Hammerschlag et al., 2018).
In nature fins are frequently damaged, for example as
a result of disease, predator attacks, aggressive male-male
conflicts or severe floods and storms (Ziskowski et al., 2008;
Sinclair et al., 2011; Furness et al., 2020). Such damages to,
or loss of, fins is known to dramatically reduce the fish’
escape performance, burst speed and sustained swimming
ability (Webb, 1973, 1977; Plaut, 2000; Fu et al., 2013; Cai
et al., 2020), likely negatively affecting its fitness in high
predation environments. Given the importance of intact fins
for the swimming performance of fish and hence their ability
to escape from predators, we propose that predation risk
may not only affect shape and size of fins, but also their
regenerative capacity. Specifically, we propose that if fins play
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution | www.frontiersin.org
Hypothesis 3. Matrotrophy-Suppressed
Fin Regeneration
Regeneration is an energetically demanding cell-based process
that requires the activation of the immune system (Box 1), wound
healing, blastema formation and, the subsequent restitution
of a fully functional structure. Bely (2010) proposed that
a (temporarily) reduced regenerative capacity might result
from a trade-off with other fundamental processes which are
equally or energetically more demanding than regeneration.
Indeed, evidence suggests that the regenerative capacity can be
negatively affected by other energetically expensive processes
throughout the lifespan, including reproduction, one of the
energetically most demanding periods in an animal’s lifetime
(Bernardo and Agosta, 2005; Maginnis, 2006; Seifert et al.,
2012). Upon reaching sexual maturity, much of an animal’s
energy is often reallocated from somatic growth to reproduction
(Taranger et al., 2010). The idea of a costly reproduction has
led to the hypothesis that gamete production and germ cell
maintenance compromise long-term somatic cell maintenance
and repair (Maklakov and Immler, 2016), which means
that when energy availability is limited, regeneration and
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Fin Regeneration in the Poeciliidae
of maternal provisioning should influence a female’s regenerative
capacity during gestation. Specifically, we propose that since (i)
the pregnancy is energetically more demanding in matrotrophic
than lecithotrophic females and (ii) matrotrophic provisioning
and regeneration are both very costly processes, matrotrophy
should be associated with a suppressed female capacity for fin
regeneration during gestation (Figure 4C).
reproduction might come in conflict with each other. Indirect
support for this hypothesis comes from a recent study
that found that the caudal fin of zebrafish when exposed
to a challenging condition (sublethal low-dose of ionizing
radiation, with genotoxic stress affecting the soma and the
germline) regenerated faster in germline-free zebrafish than
in germ-cell-carrying fish (Chen et al., 2020), suggesting that
regeneration is curbed in individuals that produce energetically
costly germ cells.
Approaches to Test This Hypothesis
There is a well-supported phylogenetic framework for the
evolution of the placenta in the Poeciliidae that can be used for
comparative studies on lecithotrophic and matrotrophic species
to test these predictions (Pollux et al., 2014; Furness et al., 2019).
These studies show that (1) the placenta independently evolved
multiple times in this family and (2) that there are closely related
species that either lack a placenta or have intermediate stages in
the evolution of the placenta. This remarkable diversity allows for
the selection of closely related species, particularly in the genus
Poecilia (Meredith et al., 2010, 2011) and Poeciliopsis (Reznick
et al., 2002), for comparative experimental studies that address
fundamental questions about how female fin regeneration during
pregnancy co-evolves with the evolution of the placenta. Future
studies should optimally look for differences in fin regeneration
throughout a female’s reproductive cycle, i.e., prior to sexual
maturation and egg fertilization, during pregnancy and after
parturition, between lecithotrophic and placental matrotrophic
females. These studies will shed new light on the factors that could
potentially limit the regenerative competence of species.
Different Reproductive Modes
The family Poeciliidae provides a unique system to study
trade-offs between regenerative capacity and reproduction, by
studying one of maternally most demanding reproductive
periods, the pregnancy. All members of this family, except
one (Tomeurus gracilis), are live-bearing fish. Moreover, several
independent evolutionary transitions from lecithotrophy (a
form of maternal provisioning in which nutrients are provided
to the eggs before fertilization) to matroptrophy (a type of
maternal provisioning in which nutrients are provided after
fertilization, i.e., throughout embryonic development in utero)
have occurred in this live-bearing family (Pollux et al., 2009).
These transitions coincide with a shift in the timing of the
allocation of maternal nutrients to the offspring from preto postfertilization. The amount of resources a female can
allocate to her offspring is the result of a delicate balance
between maternal energy uptake (via feeding), her own caloric
utilization (maintenance) and the amount of excess energy
that is subsequently available for other functions such as
reproduction and/or regeneration (e.g., Reznick et al., 1996;
Trexler, 1997; Banet et al., 2010; Pollux and Reznick, 2011;
Hagmayer et al., 2018).
In poeciliids, a pregnancy may impose high energetic demands
on females, due to: (i) the physical burden of having to propel
an increasingly larger body volume and higher body mass
through the water during locomotion (Plaut, 2002; Ghalambor
et al., 2004; Fleuren et al., 2018b, 2019; Quicazan-Rubio et al.,
2019) and (ii) the physiological burden of having to provide
oxygen and, in some species, nutrients to the developing
offspring. This physiological burden, however, is not equal
for all Poeciliid species and may differ greatly depending on
their mode of maternal provisioning. Specifically, the energy
requirements during pregnancy are significantly higher for
matrotrophic species compared to lecithotrophic ones, because
of the additional energy costs of having to: (i) nourish
their developing embryos, i.e., the acquirement, consumption,
digestion and absorption of additional food plus the subsequent
transport of converted nutrients to the embryos, and (ii)
develop a very costly tissue, i.e., the placenta, that regulates
many complex and energetically expensive immunological and
endocrine maternal-fetal interactions (Pollux et al., 2009). One
could argue that the higher energetic demands associated with
placentation, a special form of matrotrophy found in the
Poeciliidae in which the female transfers nutrient to the fetus in
utero via a placenta, make it more likely that females experience
conflicting demands between maintenance, reproduction and
regeneration during pregnancy. We therefore posit that the mode
Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution | www.frontiersin.org
CONCLUSION
Important progress has been made on understanding the cellular
and molecular mechanisms underlying appendage regeneration.
Unfortunately, however, most of these insights are based on
only a few model species (e.g., the Zebrafish). Moreover, many
fundamental questions regarding why or how regeneration
evolved remain poorly understood. Future studies should
therefore include new animal models and compare species
that may have evolved divergent regenerative capacities in
response to different selection pressures. Here, we propose
3 novel hypotheses for the evolution of fin regeneration
in fishes and argue that the fish family Poeciliidae offers
an interesting new study system for comparative studies at
different phylogenetic levels (among species, among populations
within species and among individuals within populations) to
empirically test these hypotheses. Such comparative studies
in the fish family Poeciliidae may help identify the factors
that drive or influence the evolution of regeneration and
help elucidate the underlaying mechanisms of evolution
(e.g., changes in the cellular processes, gene expression,
molecular pathways, immunology). The era of next-generation
sequencing and the recent advances in genome research
in the Poeciliidae (Schartl et al., 2013; Kunstner et al.,
2016; Shen et al., 2016; Warren et al., 2018; Mateos et al.,
2019; Van Kruistum et al., 2019, 2020) add further to the
appeal of this family.
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Fin Regeneration in the Poeciliidae
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
FUNDING
DS drafted the manuscript and design the figures. GW and
BP contributed to content and editing of the manuscript and
figures. All authors contributed to the article and approved the
submitted version.
This work was supported by a scholarship from ANID
Chile awarded to DS and a VIDI grant (864.14.008) from
the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research awarded
to BP.
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