Collaborative Research: Molecular Basis of Mimicry in Heliconius Butterflies

这个项目将产生一个机械的理解如何收敛形态变化是实现在Heliconius蝴蝶。 这些蝴蝶将翅膀图案中令人惊叹的适应性变化与模仿进化的多个案例结合起来。 该项目将产生跨区域的基因组序列，这些区域包含负责翅膀图案变异的基因。 靶向基因组序列将提供背景，以确定基因的基础翼模式的变化，并探索历史的模仿收敛的基因座，一直是实际的目标选择。尽管基因组生物学取得了进展，但缺乏关于基因组信息如何编码表型差异的基本信息。 这项研究将确定功能形态变异的原因和选择下的基因座的群体遗传标记的方式，不能在大多数遗传模型系统。 在人类疾病基因关联研究中，这种选择的特征被用来检测基因，但在不同选择制度下的预期模式的实证研究很少。 此外，蝴蝶翅膀图案是简单的二维结构，并且对翅膀图案变化如何调制的基因组分析将对更复杂形态的形成具有直接影响。

This project will produce a mechanistic understanding of how convergent morphological change is achieved in Heliconius butterflies. These butterflies couple stunning adaptive variation in wing patterns with multiple cases of mimicry evolution. The project will generate genomic sequence across regions that contain genes responsible for wing pattern variation. The targeted genomic sequence will provide the backdrop for identifying the genes that underlie wing pattern change and for exploring the history of mimetic convergence at the loci that have been the actual targets of selection. Despite advances in genome biology, there is a lack of fundamental information on how genomic information codes for differences in phenotype. This research will identify causes of functional morphological variation and the population genetic signature of loci under selection in a way that cannot be done in most genetic model systems. This signature of selection is used to detect genes in human disease gene association studies, but there are few empirical studies of the expected pattern under different selection regimes. Furthermore, butterfly wing patterns are simple two-dimensional structures and genomic analysis of how wing pattern variation is modulated will have direct ramifications for the formation of more complex morphologies.