Collaborative Research: Molecular Basis of Mimicry in Heliconius Butterflies

这个项目将从机制上理解赫利柯斯蝴蝶如何实现收敛的形态变化。这些蝴蝶将翅膀图案令人惊叹的适应性变化与模仿进化的多个案例结合在一起。该项目将生成跨区域的基因组序列，这些区域包含导致翅膀图案变化的基因。目标基因组序列将为确定导致翅膀模式变化的基因和探索作为实际选择目标的基因座的模拟收敛历史提供背景。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。这项研究将以一种在大多数遗传模型系统中不能完成的方式来识别功能形态变异的原因和被选择的基因座的群体遗传特征。这种选择的特征被用来检测人类疾病基因关联研究中的基因，但很少有关于不同选择制度下预期模式的实证研究。此外，蝴蝶的翅膀图案是简单的二维结构，对翅膀图案变异如何调制的基因组分析将直接影响更复杂的形态的形成。

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.