1 00:00:08,839 --> 00:00:11,720 A few years ago, the Laboratory of Fish Genetics team discovered 2 00:00:11,720 --> 00:00:16,879 the first case of clonally reproducing fish in Central Europe in the Kokořín area 3 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:20,640 – loaches of the genus Cobitis. 4 00:00:21,519 --> 00:00:23,839 For this discovery and subsequent research, 5 00:00:23,839 --> 00:00:25,800 our laboratory was awarded 6 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:27,839 the Czech Academy of Sciences Award for outstanding results. 7 00:00:29,679 --> 00:00:31,320 In the Laboratory of Fish Genetics, 8 00:00:31,320 --> 00:00:33,880 we study the evolution of fishes from natural populations 9 00:00:34,119 --> 00:00:38,200 as well as the genetics of farmed fish species. 10 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:41,039 We are also interested in the evolutionary phenomena 11 00:00:41,039 --> 00:00:43,880 occurring in different groups of amphibians and reptiles. 12 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:49,079 One of our main aims is to understand the relationships 13 00:00:49,079 --> 00:00:53,359 between freshwater fish species based on their genetic information. 14 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:56,439 Thus, we examine the species richness of the ichthyofauna 15 00:00:56,439 --> 00:01:00,439 and look for circumstances that have contributed to fish diversity, 16 00:01:00,439 --> 00:01:05,239 such as repeated significant climate changes. 17 00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:08,879 We also describe new species and higher taxa. 18 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:12,920 Recognising events in the ancient history helps us 19 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:16,359 to protect both the current and forthcoming fish populations. 20 00:01:16,959 --> 00:01:19,400 In addition, we also study the processes 21 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:22,640 that determine whether an embryo develops into a male or a female. 22 00:01:23,040 --> 00:01:28,040 Fishes and reptiles are known for their great variety of sex determination mechanisms. 23 00:01:28,239 --> 00:01:31,640 Their sex may not only be encoded in an individual’s DNA, 24 00:01:31,640 --> 00:01:36,159 but also determined by environmental conditions such as temperature. 25 00:01:36,799 --> 00:01:40,799 Studying these processes is therefore important for understanding the impact 26 00:01:40,799 --> 00:01:44,879 of today’s rapid climate changes on our planet’s biodiversity. 27 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:50,359 We are interested in how the genetic information is organized in a cell’s nucleus 28 00:01:50,359 --> 00:01:53,879 and how the genome architecture changes during the evolution of species. 29 00:01:56,680 --> 00:02:02,959 Our model groups include the African killifish and e.g. the crocodilians. 30 00:02:04,239 --> 00:02:07,760 Another relevant topic concerns the reproductive strategies of species 31 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:11,800 which reproduce by other than standard sexual reproduction mechanism. 32 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:16,280 For example, a rare, not yet fully understood mode of reproduction 33 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:18,159 shows our water frog. 34 00:02:18,840 --> 00:02:20,719 One of them named the edible frog is a hybrid of two species 35 00:02:20,719 --> 00:02:24,159 – the marsh frog and the pool frog, 36 00:02:24,159 --> 00:02:27,840 but it passes the genetic information 37 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:29,840 of only one of these species to the next generation. 38 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:32,520 Therefore, the edible frog must live at the same locality as the species 39 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:34,719 which provides the genome not inherited to the offspring 40 00:02:34,719 --> 00:02:38,400 in order to produce a new generation of hybrids after mating. 41 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:45,280 An altered mode of reproduction has also evolved in hybrid Cobitis loaches, 42 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:48,560 whose females produce unreduced eggs. 43 00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:52,080 These represent pure clones of their mother, 44 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:54,319 representing thus all-female offspring. 45 00:02:55,439 --> 00:02:58,840 The male of the sexually reproducing species is being exploited: 46 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:00,520 his sperm is only used to trigger the egg cleavage and development, 47 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:04,199 but it does not fuse with the egg, 48 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:08,439 i.e. the male does not contribute genetically to the new generation. 49 00:03:10,159 --> 00:03:14,479 In addition to basic research, the laboratory is intensely involved in the efforts 50 00:03:14,479 --> 00:03:17,479 to conserve genetically pure species or lineages. 51 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:23,280 In particular, by a genetic diagnosis of breeding stocks of economically important fish 52 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:28,800 species such as the common carp, whitefish, tench or trout. 53 00:03:31,159 --> 00:03:32,639 We are not as numerous as fishes, 54 00:03:32,719 --> 00:03:36,639 but we still manage to travel and handle both field and laboratory work, 55 00:03:36,639 --> 00:03:40,080 collaborate with our national and international colleagues, 56 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:42,439 publish and popularize our study results, 57 00:03:42,439 --> 00:03:45,280 educate a new generation of researchers in natural science 58 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:49,319 and work together as a team, both within as well as outside our facility.