DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Morphological, genetic, and evolutionary bases for structurally blue scales of Buckeye butterflies

论文研究：七叶树蝴蝶蓝色鳞片结构的形态学、遗传和进化基础

• 批准号: 1601815
• 负责人: Nipam Patel
• 金额: $ 1.98万
• 依托单位: University of California-Berkeley
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-07-15 至 2019-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1601815&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Morphological; genetic; evolutionary

A major goal in biology is to understand the biological basis of traits that mediate an organism's interactions with its environment. Color mediates organismal success in diverse ways, including camouflage and signaling to other organisms. While pigments such as melanin are one familiar source of coloration, many organisms also employ structural coloration. Structural color is caused by interference of light as it interacts with nanometer-sized physical structures near the surface of an organism. Organisms use structural mechanisms to display colors for which they lack pigments (frequently blue) or to create optical effects like iridescence. Structural coloration is a pervasive and adaptive phenomenon, and is highly relevant for the bio-inspired synthesis of optical materials and devices. This project investigates the biological basis of structural color (e.g. how genes and developmental processes sculpt the underlying nanostructures, as well as how the shapes of nanostructures evolve). The researchers are also involved in outreach to K-12 teachers in rural Nevada. This study will focus on a single species, the Buckeye butterfly, to explore the biological basis of blue structural color. Although wild buckeyes are predominantly brown, a population that was artificially selected to be a pronounced blue, through structural mechanisms, is recently available. In this study, blue and brown buckeyes will be interbred to generate variably colored offspring. These progeny will be statistically analyzed to correlate extent of blueness with the genetic information carried by each individual, thus identifying genetic loci that regulate structural color. This study will also analyze the nanostructures of six related species to track the evolution of structural color within a phylogenetic context.

生物学的一个主要目标是了解调节有机体与环境相互作用的特征的生物学基础。颜色以多种方式调节生物体的成功，包括伪装和向其他生物体发出信号。虽然黑色素等色素是一种常见的着色来源，但许多生物也使用结构性着色。结构颜色是由于光与有机体表面附近的纳米物理结构相互作用而产生的干涉。生物体使用结构机制来显示它们缺乏色素的颜色(通常是蓝色)，或者创造像虹彩这样的光学效果。结构着色是一种普遍存在的自适应现象，与光学材料和器件的仿生合成密切相关。该项目研究结构颜色的生物学基础(例如，基因和发育过程如何塑造潜在的纳米结构，以及纳米结构的形状如何演变)。研究人员还参与了与内华达州农村地区K-12教师的接触。这项研究将重点放在单一物种七叶树蝴蝶身上，以探索蓝色结构颜色的生物学基础。虽然野生七叶树以棕色为主，但最近通过结构机制人工选择了一个明显的蓝色种群。在这项研究中，蓝色和棕色的七叶树将进行杂交，以产生不同颜色的后代。这些后代将被统计分析，以将蓝色的程度与每个个体携带的遗传信息相关联，从而识别调节结构颜色的遗传基因。这项研究还将分析六个相关物种的纳米结构，以跟踪系统发育背景下结构颜色的演变。