Developmental Architecture of Structure and Color on Butterfly Wings

色彩图案是自然界最丰富、最重要的动植物交流信号之一。在自然界中，这些颜色是由反射不同波长光的颜料或结构产生的。该项目利用蝴蝶翅膀颜色图案的巨大多样性来研究图案发展的生物学基础。蝴蝶翅膀的相对简单和可接近性使其成为研究图案形成的有吸引力的模型系统。该项目将结合基因组测序、显微镜和基因编辑技术，确定参与形成复杂颜色图案的基因。这些结果将为控制细胞和组织发育的基本生物学过程提供有价值的见解。这项研究将为本科生和研究生提供分子和计算生物学方法的实践训练。通过“蝴蝶路演”和其他推广活动，研究人员将让K-6年级的学生参与到使用折纸显微镜探索蝴蝶多样性的沉浸式活动中，学生们可以在自己的后院继续使用折纸显微镜。总的来说，这个研究项目的结果将代表一个重要的里程碑，理解遗传和发育过程，协调颜色图案和如何复杂的，生物学上重要的基于颜色的信号在自然界中产生。本项目旨在以蝴蝶翅膀图案为模型系统，探讨结构着色的发育遗传学。蝴蝶的翅膀形成大量的分化上皮细胞，这些细胞决定了翅膀的鳞片命运，并最终决定了翅膀的最终颜色图案。颜色是单个翅膀鳞片反射不同波长光的色素和/或结构的结果。与基于颜料的颜色不同，结构色是由操纵光行为的三维纳米结构产生的。尽管色素变异的发育和遗传基础在许多生物中都得到了很好的理解，但对结构着色的生成过程却知之甚少。蝴蝶鳞片类型在空间上的自然排列，它们的两性二态性，以及在整个发育过程中测定翅膀上特定基因表达模式的能力，为识别负责模式化和激活高度特化细胞状态的基因和发育过程提供了无与伦比的机会。通过结合转录组测序（RNA-seq）、原位杂交、免疫荧光、电穿孔和CRISPR基因组编辑，本研究希望提供基因网络变化与细胞结构变化之间的直接联系。项目团队成员还将实施多方面的外展和教育计划，包括：(1)建立一个充满活力的学生培训计划，(2)积极从代表性不足的群体中招募学生，以及(3)制定一个公共外展计划，让学生参与实践，以探究为基础的发现。项目团队的这些努力将确保其影响远远超出具体的研究目标。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Color patterns are one of nature's most dynamically rich and important signals of communication among plants and animals. In nature, these colors are produced by either pigments or structures that reflect different wavelengths of light. This project leverages the dramatic diversity in butterfly wing color patterns to study the biological basis of pattern development. The relative simplicity and the accessibility of butterfly wings make them attractive model systems for the study of pattern formation. Using a combination of genome sequencing, microscopy and gene-editing, the project will identify the genes involved in the formation of complex color patterns. These results will provide valuable insights into basic biological processes that control cell and tissue development. The research will provide hands-on training for undergraduate and graduate students in molecular and computational biology methods. Through "Butterfly Roadshows" and other outreach events, the researchers will engage K-6 students with immersive activities that explore butterfly diversity using origami paper microscopes, which students can continue to use in their own backyards. Collectively, the outcomes of this research program will represent a major milestone for understanding the genetic and developmental processes that orchestrate color patterning and how complex, biologically-important color-based signals are generated in nature.The aim of this project is to explore the developmental genetics of structural coloration using butterfly wing patterns as a model system. Butterfly wings form large arrays of differentiating epithelial cells that determine scale fate, and ultimately, the final color pattern of the wing. Colors are the result of pigments and/or structures of individual wing scales that reflect different wavelengths of light. Unlike pigment-based colors, structural colors result from three-dimensional nanostructures that manipulate the behavior of light. Although the developmental and genetic basis of pigment-based variation is well understood in a wide array of organisms, little is known about the generative processes responsible for structural coloration. The natural arrangements of butterfly scale types in space, their sexual dimorphism, and the ability to assay position specific gene expression patterns across the wing throughout development provides an unparalleled opportunity to identify the genes and developmental processes responsible for patterning and activating highly specialized cellular states. Through a combination of transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq), in situ hybridizations, immunofluorescence, electroporation and CRISPR genome editing, this study aspires to provide a direct connection between changes in gene networks and cytostructural variation. The project team members will also implement a multifaceted outreach and educational program that will (1) establish a vibrant Student Training Program, (2) actively recruit students from underrepresented groups, and (3) develop a public outreach program that engages students in hands-on, inquiry-based discovery. These efforts by the project team will ensure the impacts extend well beyond the specific research objectives.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.