Collaborative Research: Molecular Basis of Mimicry in Heliconius Butterflies

合作研究： Heliconius 蝴蝶拟态的分子基础

• 批准号: 0715096
• 负责人: William McMillan
• 金额: $ 23.06万
• 依托单位: North Carolina State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-04-01 至 2010-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0715096&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Molecular; Basis; Mimicry

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.

该项目将对 Heliconius 蝴蝶如何实现趋同形态变化产生机械性的理解。 这些蝴蝶将翅膀图案的惊人适应性变化与多种拟态进化结合起来。 该项目将生成跨区域的基因组序列，其中包含负责翅膀图案变异的基因。 目标基因组序列将为识别翅膀图案变化的基因和探索作为实际选择目标的基因座的模仿趋同的历史提供背景。尽管基因组生物学取得了进步，但仍缺乏关于基因组信息如何编码表型差异的基本信息。 这项研究将以大多数遗传模型系统无法完成的方式确定功能形态变异的原因以及选择下的基因座的群体遗传特征。 这种选择特征用于检测人类疾病基因关联研究中的基因，但对不同选择方案下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，对翅膀图案变异如何调节的基因组分析将对更复杂形态的形成产生直接影响。