Richard Borowsky

Emeritus Professor of Biology

Education

  • 1969 Ph.D (Biology), Yale University
  • 1967 M.Phil. (Biology), Yale University
  • 1964 B.A. (Biology), Queens College

Areas of Research/Interest

The evolution and genetics of cave fish with an emphasis on understanding the molecular and developmental bases of adaptation and the "eyeless" condition

Research

The Cave Biology Research Group concentrates on the molecular evolution and genetics of cave fishes. Current projects include genomic mapping of the QTL (quantitative trait loci) responsible for developmental changes in eyes, pigmentation and metabolism in Astyanax cave fish from Mexico and molecular phylogenetic studies of the balitorid cave fishes of SE Asia. The laboratory also engages in an active program of field research, with current efforts in Thailand, Mexico and Brazil.

External Affiliations

American Society of Human Genetics; Genetics Society of America; Society for the Study of Evolution; American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists; American Society of Naturalists; National Speleological Society; Sociedad Mexicana de Exploraciones Subterraneas (SMES); Fellow, The Explorers Club

Fellowships/Honors

National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship; SFB Fellow, Theodor Boveri Institute, Würzburg, 1994

Publications

Date of these PubMed search results: March 24 2020
Get the current Pubmed search results

  1. Sperm swimming behaviors are correlated with sperm haploid genetic variability in the Mexican tetra, Astyanax mexicanus.
    PLoS One (2019) PMC6594619 free full-text archive
    Borowsky R, Luk A, Kim RS
  2. The role of gene flow in rapid and repeated evolution of cave-related traits in Mexican tetra, Astyanax mexicanus.
    Mol Ecol (2018 Nov) PMC6261294 free full-text archive
    Herman A, Brandvain Y, Weagley J, Jeffery WR, Keene AC, Kono TJY, Bilandzija H, Borowsky R, Espinasa L, O'Quin K, Ornelas‑Garcia CP, Yoshizawa M, Carlson B, Maldonado E, Gross JB, Cartwright RA, Rohner N, Warren WC, McGaugh SE
  3. Unique sperm haplotypes are associated with phenotypically different sperm subpopulations in Astyanax fish.
    BMC Biol (2018 Jul 5) PMC6032774 free full-text archive
    Borowsky R, Luk A, He X, Kim RS
  4. Temperature preference of cave and surface populations of Astyanax mexicanus.
    Dev Biol (2018 Sep 15) PMC6119108 free full-text archive
    Tabin JA, Aspiras A, Martineau B, Riddle M, Kowalko J, Borowsky R, Rohner N, Tabin CJ
  5. Insulin resistance in cavefish as an adaptation to a nutrient-limited environment.
    Nature (2018 Mar 29) PMC5989729 free full-text archive
    Riddle MR, Aspiras AC, Gaudenz K, Peuss R, Sung JY, Martineau B, Peavey M, Box AC, Tabin JA, McGaugh S, Borowsky R, Tabin CJ, Rohner N
  6. Cavefishes.
    Curr Biol (2018 Jan 22) PMID: 29374443
    Borowsky R
  7. Melanocortin 4 receptor mutations contribute to the adaptation of cavefish to nutrient-poor conditions.
    Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A (2015 Aug 4) PMC4534248 free full-text archive
    Aspiras AC, Rohner N, Martineau B, Borowsky RL, Tabin CJ
  8. Distinct genetic architecture underlies the emergence of sleep loss and prey-seeking behavior in the Mexican cavefish.
    BMC Biol (2015 Feb 20) PMC4364459 free full-text archive
    Yoshizawa M, Robinson BG, Duboue ER, Masek P, Jaggard JB, O'Quin KE, Borowsky RL, Jeffery WR, Keene AC
  9. The cavefish genome reveals candidate genes for eye loss.
    Nat Commun (2014 Oct 20) PMC4218959 free full-text archive
    McGaugh SE, Gross JB, Aken B, Blin M, Borowsky R, Chalopin D, Hinaux H, Jeffery WR, Keene A, Ma L, Minx P, Murphy D, O'Quin KE, Retaux S, Rohner N, Searle SM, Stahl BA, Tabin C, Volff JN, Yoshizawa M, Warren WC
  10. Cryptic variation in morphological evolution: HSP90 as a capacitor for loss of eyes in cavefish.
    Science (2013 Dec 13) PMC4004346 free full-text archive
    Rohner N, Jarosz DF, Kowalko JE, Yoshizawa M, Jeffery WR, Borowsky RL, Lindquist S, Tabin CJ
  11. Genomic consequences of ecological speciation in astyanax cavefish.
    PLoS One (2013) PMC3833966 free full-text archive
    Borowsky R, Cohen D
  12. Convergence in feeding posture occurs through different genetic loci in independently evolved cave populations of Astyanax mexicanus.
    Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A (2013 Oct 15) PMC3801050 free full-text archive
    Kowalko JE, Rohner N, Linden TA, Rompani SB, Warren WC, Borowsky R, Tabin CJ, Jeffery WR, Yoshizawa M
  13. Loss of schooling behavior in cavefish through sight-dependent and sight-independent mechanisms.
    Curr Biol (2013 Oct 7) PMC3904651 free full-text archive
    Kowalko JE, Rohner N, Rompani SB, Peterson BK, Linden TA, Yoshizawa M, Kay EH, Weber J, Hoekstra HE, Jeffery WR, Borowsky R, Tabin CJ
  14. The population genomics of repeated evolution in the blind cavefish Astyanax mexicanus.
    Mol Biol Evol (2013 Nov) PMC3808867 free full-text archive
    Bradic M, Teotonio H, Borowsky RL
  15. Eye regression in blind Astyanax cavefish may facilitate the evolution of an adaptive behavior and its sensory receptors.
    BMC Biol (2013 Jul 11) PMC3726320 free full-text archive
    Borowsky R
  16. beta-adrenergic signaling regulates evolutionarily derived sleep loss in the Mexican cavefish.
    Brain Behav Evol (2012) PMID: 22922609
    Duboue ER, Borowsky RL, Keene AC
  17. Altered rest-activity patterns evolve via circadian independent mechanisms in cave adapted balitorid loaches.
    PLoS One (2012) PMC3278411 free full-text archive
    Duboue ER, Borowsky RL
  18. Gene flow and population structure in the Mexican blind cavefish complex (Astyanax mexicanus).
    BMC Evol Biol (2012 Jan 23) PMC3282648 free full-text archive
    Bradic M, Beerli P, Garcia‑de Leon FJ, Esquivel‑Bobadilla S, Borowsky RL
  19. Evolutionary convergence on sleep loss in cavefish populations.
    Curr Biol (2011 Apr 26) PMID: 21474315
    Duboue ER, Keene AC, Borowsky RL
  20. A novel role for Mc1r in the parallel evolution of depigmentation in independent populations of the cavefish Astyanax mexicanus.
    PLoS Genet (2009 Jan) PMC2603666 free full-text archive
    Gross JB, Borowsky R, Tabin CJ
  21. Synteny and candidate gene prediction using an anchored linkage map of Astyanax mexicanus.
    Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A (2008 Dec 23) PMC2629299 free full-text archive
    Gross JB, Protas M, Conrad M, Scheid PE, Vidal O, Jeffery WR, Borowsky R, Tabin CJ
  22. Multi-trait evolution in a cave fish, Astyanax mexicanus.
    Evol Dev (2008 Mar-Apr) PMID: 18315813
    Protas M, Tabansky I, Conrad M, Gross JB, Vidal O, Tabin CJ, Borowsky R
  23. Restoring sight in blind cavefish.
    Curr Biol (2008 Jan 8) PMID: 18177707
    Borowsky R
  24. Breeding Astyanax mexicanus through Natural Spawning.
    CSH Protoc (2008 Nov 1) PMID: 21356731
    Borowsky R
  25. Astyanax mexicanus, the Blind Mexican Cave Fish: A Model for Studies in Development and Morphology.
    CSH Protoc (2008 Nov 1) PMID: 21356710
    Borowsky R
  26. Construction of bacterial artificial chromosome libraries for the Lake Malawi cichlid (Metriaclima zebra), and the blind cavefish (Astyanax mexicanus).
    Zebrafish (2007 Spring) PMID: 18041941
    Di Palma F, Kidd C, Borowsky R, Kocher TD
  27. Regressive evolution in the Mexican cave tetra, Astyanax mexicanus.
    Curr Biol (2007 Mar 6) PMC2570642 free full-text archive
    Protas M, Conrad M, Gross JB, Tabin C, Borowsky R
  28. Genetic analysis of cavefish reveals molecular convergence in the evolution of albinism.
    Nat Genet (2006 Jan) PMID: 16341223
    Protas ME, Hersey C, Kochanek D, Zhou Y, Wilkens H, Jeffery WR, Zon LI, Borowsky R, Tabin CJ
  29. Mapping a cave fish genome: polygenic systems and regressive evolution.
    J Hered (2002 Jan-Feb) PMID: 12011170
    Borowsky R, Wilkens H
  30. Nucleotide diversity in populations of balitorid cave fishes from Thailand.
    Mol Ecol (2001 Dec) PMID: 11903893
    Borowsky RL, Vidthayanon C
  31. Localization of a CDKN2 gene in linkage group V of Xiphophorus fishes defines it as a candidate for the DIFF tumor suppressor.
    Genes Chromosomes Cancer (1998 Jul) PMID: 9624532
    Kazianis S, Gutbrod H, Nairn RS, McEntire BB, Della Coletta L, Walter RB, Borowsky RL, Woodhead AD, Setlow RB, Schartl M, Morizot DC
  32. Evolutionary divergence of AP-PCR (RAPD) patterns.
    Mol Biol Evol (1998 Apr) PMID: 9549091
    Espinasa L, Borowsky R
  33. Genetic mapping in Xiphophorus hybrid fish: assignment of 43 AP-PCR/RAPD and isozyme markers to multipoint linkage groups.
    Genome Res (1996 Apr) PMID: 8723721
    Kazianis S, Morizot DC, McEntire BB, Nairn RS, Borowsky RL
  34. Arbitrarily primed DNA fingerprinting for phylogenetic reconstruction in vertebrates: the Xiphophorus model.
    Mol Biol Evol (1995 Nov) PMID: 8524037
    Borowsky RL, McClelland M, Cheng R, Welsh J
  35. Stable association of a pigmentation allele with an oncogene: nonhybrid melanomas in Xiphophorus variatus.
    J Hered (1995 May-Jun) PMID: 7608512
    Kazianis S, Borowsky R
  36. Spontaneous melanoma formation in nonhybrid Xiphophorus.
    Cancer Res (1995 Jan 1) PMID: 7805027
    Schartl A, Malitschek B, Kazianis S, Borowsky R, Schartl M
  37. HABITAT CHOICE BY ALLELIC VARIANTS IN XIPHOPHORUS VARIATUS (PISCES; POECILIIDAE) AND IMPLICATIONS FOR MAINTENANCE OF GENETIC POLYMORPHISM.
    Evolution (1990 Aug) PMID: 28563897
    Borowsky R
  38. THE USE OF PARALLEL PATTERNS TO TEST NEUTRALITY: A REPLY TO VARVIO-AHO AND PAMILO.
    Evolution (1982 Jan) PMID: 28581092
    Borowsky R
  39. TAILSPOTS OF XIPHOPHORUS AND THE EVOLUTION OF CONSPICUOUS POLYMORPHISM.
    Evolution (1981 Mar) PMID: 28563374
    Borowsky R
  40. THE TAILSPOT POLYMORPHISM OF XIPHOPHORUS (PISCES: POECILIIDAE).
    Evolution (1978 Dec) PMID: 28567916
    Borowsky R
  41. Social Inhibition of Maturation in Natural Populations of Xiphophorus variatus (Pisces: Poeciliidae).
    Science (1978 Sep 8) PMID: 17729573
    Borowsky R
  42. DETECTION OF THE EFFECTS OF SELECTION ON PROTEIN POLYMORPHISMS IN NATURAL POPULATIONS BY MEANS OF A DISTANCE ANALYSIS.
    Evolution (1977 Jun) PMID: 28563239
    Borowsky R
  43. PATTERNS OF MATING IN NATURAL POPULATIONS OF XIPHOPHORUS (PISCES: POECILIIDAE). I: X. MACULATUS FROM BELIZE AND MEXICO.
    Evolution (1976 Dec) PMID: 28563338
    Borowsky R, Kallman KD
  44. Melanomas in Xiphophorus variatus (Pisces, Poeciliidae) in the absence of hybridization.
    Experientia (1973 Nov 15) PMID: 4761265
    Borowsky R