The Evolutionary History of Wing Patterning Genes in Heliconius Butterflies

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Genetic studies of adaptation and speciation have been limited by a general lack of information about the genes that underlie adaptive traits or are responsible for the initial divergence of species. Larry Gilbert's project will make this connection by first identifying portions of the genome and specific genes that are responsible for wing color patterning in Heliconius butterflies, a group famous for its wing pattern diversity. Once these genomic regions have been identified, analyses of DNA sequence variation will be used to measure the extent to which natural selection, genetic drift, and interspecific gene flow have influenced their evolution. This project will provide a comprehensive examination of the genetic causes and consequences of speciation and the molecular evolution of genes responsible for ecologically important characters. There will be a variety of broader impacts from this work, related to education, participation of underrepresented groups, and dissemination of results. The project will serve to train a promising group of graduate and undergraduate students, many of whom are international and female, in the basic skills of experimental design and molecular genetic techniques. Special effort will be made to make the results of this project available to researchers and the general public in the form of an online database.