Collaborative Research: The Comparative Genetics of Wing Pattern Diversity in Mimetic Butterflies

阐明自然种群适应的遗传基础是理解生物多样性起源的核心。一个特别重要的问题是，相同基因的变化是否构成了不同物种类似适应的独立进化的基础。蝴蝶显示出大量的翅膀图案，但这种多样性很大程度上似乎是保守的地面发展计划变化的结果。这一合作项目将利用一种新的策略，将传统的实验杂交与基因组学的现代进步相结合，来表征赫利柯斯蝴蝶、莱门蒂斯蝴蝶和巴利里奥蝴蝶颜色图案的遗传基础。这种方法将使研究人员能够识别每个物种中负责翅膀图案的特定基因，并直接测试一组核心基因控制所有蝴蝶翅膀图案的假设。翅膀图案的多样性广泛存在于整个蝴蝶系统发育中，为探索一个已经进化和辐射了1亿年的群体的适应、模式、平行和趋同的遗传和进化提供了一个无与伦比的机会。该项目将以综合和全面的方式研究不同的谱系如何在类似的选择压力下产生相似的形态，从而极大地扩大目前对机会和限制如何相互作用以产生生物多样性的理解。该项目还将对博士后研究人员、研究生和本科生的培训以及针对小学生、初中生和高中生的科学推广产生各种重要的、更广泛的影响。

Elucidating the genetic basis of adaptations in natural populations is central to understanding the origins of biological diversity. One issue of particular importance is whether changes in the same genes underlie the independent evolution of similar adaptations in different species. Butterflies display a massive array of wing patterns, but much of this diversity appears to be a result of variations on a conserved developmental ground plan. This collaborative project will characterize the genetic basis of color patterning across Heliconius, Limenitis, and Papilio butterflies using a novel strategy that combines traditional experimental crosses with modern advances in genomics. This approach will allow the researchers to identify the specific genes responsible for wing patterning in each species and directly test the hypothesis that a core set of genes controls wing patterning across all butterflies. Wing pattern diversity is widespread across the entire butterfly phylogeny, providing an unparalleled opportunity to explore the genetics and evolution of adaptation, patterning, parallelism, and convergence across a group that has been evolving and radiating for 100 million years. This project will significantly expand the current understanding of how chance and constraint interact to generate biological diversity by examining, in an integrated and comprehensive way, how diverse lineages generate similar morphologies in response to similar selective pressures. This project will also have a variety of important broader impacts related to the training of post-doctoral researchers, graduate students, and undergraduate students, as well as scientific outreach aimed at elementary, middle, and high school students.