Fig. 4

Differential expression of Ahr2b and Ap2 in developing heads of Arctic charr morphs. a Relative expression of eight selected TF genes in developing heads of SB, LB, PI, PL and AC at six stages. Error bars represent standard deviation calculated from two biological replicates where each biological replicate contains a homogenate of six heads. b Relative expression ratios were subjected to an analysis of variance (ANOVA) to test for expression differences among five Arctic charr morphs and six stages (M morph; T stage (time); MxT morphs by time effects; P values of <0.05, 0.01 and 0.001 are indicated by one, two and three asterisks, respectively). Subsequently, a post hoc Tukey’s HSD test was performed to analyse the expression of candidates among the morphs. Green to red colour gradient of morphs represents low to high expression levels and morphs with no connecting line have significantly different expression (α = 0.05). The bold and underlined gene(s) displayed distinct benthic–limnetic expression dynamics