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

生物学的一个主要目标是了解调节生物体与其环境相互作用的性状的生物学基础。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，但许多生物体也采用结构着色。结构色是由光的干涉引起的，因为它与生物体表面附近的纳米大小的物理结构相互作用。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）或产生虹彩等光学效果。结构着色是一种普遍存在的适应性现象，与光学材料和器件的仿生合成高度相关。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）。研究人员还参与了内华达州农村地区K-12教师的推广工作。本研究将集中在一个单一的物种，七叶蝶，探索蓝色结构色的生物学基础。虽然野生七叶树主要是棕色的，但最近有一种通过结构机制被人为选择为明显的蓝色的种群。在这项研究中，蓝色和棕色的七叶树将杂交产生不同颜色的后代。将对这些后代进行统计分析，以将每个个体携带的遗传信息与蓝色程度相关联，从而确定调节结构颜色的遗传位点。本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进化。

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.