Abstract
The number of fishes exceeds that of all other vertebrates both in terms of species numbers and in their morphological and phylogenetic diversity. They are an ecologically and economically important group and play an essential role as a resource for humans. This makes the genomic exploration of fishes an important area of research, both from an applied and a basic research perspective. Fish genomes can vary greatly in complexity, which is partially due to differences in size and content of repetitive DNA, a history of genome duplication events and because fishes may be polyploid, all of which complicate the assembly and analysis of genome sequences. However, the advent of modern sequencing techniques now facilitates access to genomic data that permit genome-wide exploration of genetic information even for previously unexplored species. The development of genomic resources for fishes is spearheaded by model organisms that have been subject to genetic analysis and genome sequencing projects for a long time. These offer a great potential for the exploration of new species through the transfer of genomic information in comparative analyses. A growing number of genome sequencing projects and the increasing availability of tools to assemble and access genomic information now move boundaries between model and nonmodel species and promises progress in many interesting but unexplored species that remain to be studied.
Highlights
Fishes have been naturalized across the globe in hope to create prolific food resources for human consumption, including the release of carp, trout, salmon, Tilapia, Nile perch, eel, catfish, and many other species outside their native range
Goldfish were already bred in China in 1000 AD [8]. They often are the first pets that children are acquainted with, and seed a positive image fishes have for humans. Additional species such as Koi Carp (Cyprinus carpio), Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens), platyfish (Xiphophorus maculatus), zebrafish (Danio rerio), flowerhorn chichlids (Amphilophus hybrids), and many wild ornamental species are kept as pets
Fishes are prime models in evolutionary studies. It is this prevalence of fishes and the diverse ways in which they are exploited by humans that makes them targets for genomic exploration
Summary
Fishes are the most diverse group of vertebrates on earth [1]. As of 2017, a total of 33,554 species of fishes have been described [2], and many more remain to be discovered. Fishes use the same senses to acquire signals from their environment like humans, including vision with highly developed eyes that enable them to see color, and sometimes ultraviolet or polarized light. They can hear sounds with the help of the Weberian apparatus and they have a sensory system equipped to feel pain. Fishes represent top predators that convert energy from lower trophic levels to biomass that is harvested by humans and other top predators For this reason, fishes have been naturalized across the globe in hope to create prolific food resources for human consumption, including the release of carp, trout, salmon, Tilapia, Nile perch, eel, catfish, and many other species outside their native range. It is this prevalence of fishes and the diverse ways in which they are exploited by humans that makes them targets for genomic exploration
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