The Genetic Architecture of Color Pattern Evolution in Heliconius erato

Heliconiuserato 颜色图案进化的遗传结构

• 批准号: 9806792
• 负责人: William McMillan
• 金额: $ 27.1万
• 依托单位: University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 1998
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1998-11-01 至 2002-10-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9806792&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Genetic; Architecture; Color; Pattern; Evolution

9806792 McMillan Despite the central position of adaptation in biological research, the genetic basis of adaptation in natural populations remains poorly explored. This is primarily because, except for a few model genetic organisms like mice and fruit flies, the many genetic markers necessary for detailed genetic analysis of adaptive traits have not been developed. This project will map genes involved in color pattern change in the neotropical butterfly Heliconius erato. Within this species, there has been remarkable evolution into over 20 geographic races that show striking differences in wing color patterns. The vivid wing patterns of H. erato are adaptations that warn potential predators of the butterflies' distastefulness. A detailed genetic map of H. erato will provide a potent framework for studying the number, phenotypic effect, and position of both major and minor color pattern genes underlying the color pattern change in this species. Moreover, the reference genome map will allow important regulatory genes emerging from developmental genetic studies of insects to be mapped relative to the genes known to cause pattern change in H. erato. Markers and theory developed in this project will be generally useful for other studies of Lepidoptera, which comprise almost 10% of the world's species and include some of the most noxious pests of food and fiber. The presence of a well defined developmental model underlying pattern evolution makes butterfly wings excellent models for integrating genetics, development, and morphological change. This study will be the initiating step in future comparative linkage analysis of the architecture of color pattern mimicry between H. erato and H. melpomene. Heliconius melpomene has undergone a parallel intraspecific color pattern radiation, such that races of the two distantly related species share nearly identical wing patterns across much of South and Central America. Understanding the genetic changes that repeatedly produced such remarkable converg ence in the wing patterns of these two species offers biologists rare insights into the evolution of mimicry and into the links between development and adaptive change.

尽管适应在生物学研究中处于中心地位，但自然种群适应的遗传基础仍未得到充分探索。这主要是因为，除了像老鼠和果蝇这样的少数模式遗传生物外，对适应性状进行详细遗传分析所必需的许多遗传标记尚未开发出来。本项目将绘制与新热带蝴蝶（Heliconius erato）色彩变化有关的基因图谱。在这个物种中，有20多个地理种族的显著进化，它们在翅膀颜色图案上表现出惊人的差异。蝴蝶鲜艳的翅膀图案是一种适应，可以警告潜在的捕食者蝴蝶的厌恶。一个详细的遗传图谱将为研究该物种颜色模式变化的主要和次要颜色模式基因的数量、表型效应和位置提供一个强有力的框架。此外，参考基因组图谱将允许从昆虫发育遗传研究中出现的重要调控基因相对于已知的导致白桦尺蠖模式变化的基因进行定位。在这个项目中发展的标记和理论将对鳞翅目的其他研究普遍有用，鳞翅目占世界物种的近10%，包括一些最有害的食物和纤维害虫。在模式进化的基础上，一个明确定义的发育模型的存在使蝴蝶翅膀成为整合遗传、发育和形态变化的优秀模型。本研究将为今后对毛蕊花和毛蕊花的色彩模式模仿结构进行比较连锁分析奠定基础。Heliconius melpomene经历了一种平行的种内颜色模式辐射，使得这两个远亲物种的种族在南美洲和中美洲的大部分地区拥有几乎相同的翅膀模式。了解这两个物种的翅膀图案反复产生如此显著的趋同的基因变化，为生物学家提供了对模仿进化以及发展与适应变化之间联系的罕见见解。