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A few years ago, the Laboratory of Fish Genetics team discovered
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the first case of clonally reproducing fish in Central Europe in the Kokořín area
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– loaches of the genus Cobitis.
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For this discovery and subsequent research,
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our laboratory was awarded
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the Czech Academy of Sciences Award for outstanding results.
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In the Laboratory of Fish Genetics,
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we study the evolution of fishes from natural populations
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as well as the genetics of farmed fish species.
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We are also interested in the evolutionary phenomena
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occurring in different groups of amphibians and reptiles.
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One of our main aims is to understand the relationships
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between freshwater fish species based on their genetic information.
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Thus, we examine the species richness of the ichthyofauna
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and look for circumstances that have contributed to fish diversity,
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such as repeated significant climate changes.
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We also describe new species and higher taxa.
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Recognising events in the ancient history helps us
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to protect both the current and forthcoming fish populations.
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In addition, we also study the processes
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that determine whether an embryo develops into a male or a female.
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Fishes and reptiles are known for their great variety of sex determination mechanisms.
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Their sex may not only be encoded in an individual’s DNA,
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but also determined by environmental conditions such as temperature.
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Studying these processes is therefore important for understanding the impact
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of today’s rapid climate changes on our planet’s biodiversity.
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We are interested in how the genetic information is organized in a cell’s nucleus
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and how the genome architecture changes during the evolution of species.
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Our model groups include the African killifish and e.g. the crocodilians.
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Another relevant topic concerns the reproductive strategies of species
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which reproduce by other than standard sexual reproduction mechanism.
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For example, a rare, not yet fully understood mode of reproduction
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shows our water frog.
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One of them named the edible frog is a hybrid of two species
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– the marsh frog and the pool frog,
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but it passes the genetic information
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of only one of these species to the next generation.
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Therefore, the edible frog must live at the same locality as the species
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which provides the genome not inherited to the offspring
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in order to produce a new generation of hybrids after mating.
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An altered mode of reproduction has also evolved in hybrid Cobitis loaches,
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whose females produce unreduced eggs.
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These represent pure clones of their mother,
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representing thus all-female offspring.
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The male of the sexually reproducing species is being exploited:
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his sperm is only used to trigger the egg cleavage and development,
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but it does not fuse with the egg,
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i.e. the male does not contribute genetically to the new generation.
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In addition to basic research, the laboratory is intensely involved in the efforts
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to conserve genetically pure species or lineages.
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In particular, by a genetic diagnosis of breeding stocks of economically important fish
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species such as the common carp, whitefish, tench or trout.
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We are not as numerous as fishes,
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but we still manage to travel and handle both field and laboratory work,
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collaborate with our national and international colleagues,
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publish and popularize our study results,
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educate a new generation of researchers in natural science
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and work together as a team, both within as well as outside our facility.