Candidate Gene-Based Dissection of Butterfly Eyespot Evolution

该项目将使用尖端基因组技术来剖析蝴蝶翅膀眼斑图案的遗传基础。这些眼点由不同颜色的同心环组成，在躲避捕食者和选择配偶方面都具有重要的生态作用。长期以来，眼斑一直让生物学家和外行人着迷。它们是一个特别令人兴奋的模式系统，因为这些模式在蝴蝶物种内部和之间存在巨大的多样性，这种多样性可以在不同的水平上进行分析，包括生态、生理、发育和遗传。利用该系统可能的集成方法对生物学研究具有重要价值。我们将开发基因组工具，使我们能够探索双峰蝶翅膀图案的变异。这些工具将包括一个包含在蝴蝶翅膀发育过程中表达的基因的文库，以及一个使用其中许多基因的DNA序列多态绘制的遗传图谱。基因图谱将帮助我们定位导致眼斑病变异的基因。对于致力于鳞翅目昆虫(蝴蝶和蛾)的更大的科学界来说，这些工具将是一笔宝贵的财富。尽管鳞翅目昆虫对经济有很大的正面影响(如家蚕)和负面影响(如许多农业害虫)，但仍是一个未被研究的昆虫类群。

The project will use cutting edge genomic techniques to dissect the genetic basis of butterfly wing eyespot patterning. These eyespots consist of concentric rings of different colors, and have important ecological roles in both predator avoidance and mate choice. Eyespots have long fascinated biologists and laymen alike. They are a particularly exciting model system as there is great diversity in these patterns within and between butterfly species and this diversity is amenable to analysis at different levels, including ecological, physiological, developmental, and genetical. The type of integrated approach that is possible with this system is of great value to biological research.We will develop genomic tools that will allow us to explore variation in the wing patterns of Bicyclus anynana butterflies. These tools will include a library containing genes which are expressed in developing butterfly wings, and a genetic map made using DNA sequence polymorphisms in many of those genes. The genetic map will help us localize the genes which contribute to eyespot variation. These tools will be a valuable asset for the larger scientific community working on Lepidopterans (butterflies and moths). Lepidopterans are still an understudied insect group despite their great positive (e.g., silkworms) and negative (e.g., many agricultural pests) economic impacts.