Collaborative Research: Molecular Basis of Mimicry in Heliconius Butterflies

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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.