Developmental Architecture of Structure and Color on Butterfly Wings

色彩图案是自然界中最动态、最丰富、最重要的动植物交流信号之一。在自然界中，这些颜色要么是由颜料产生的，要么是由反射不同波长光的结构产生的。这个项目利用蝴蝶翅膀颜色图案的戏剧性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性和可达性使它们成为研究图案形成的极具吸引力的模型系统。利用基因组测序、显微镜和基因编辑的组合，该项目将识别与复杂颜色图案形成有关的基因。这些结果将为控制细胞和组织发育的基本生物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培训。通过“蝴蝶路演”和其他外展活动，研究人员将让K-6年级的学生参与身临其境的活动，使用折纸显微镜探索蝴蝶的多样性，学生们可以在自己的后院继续使用折纸显微镜。总而言之，这项研究计划的结果将是一个重要的里程碑，以了解协调色彩图案的遗传和发育过程，以及自然界中如何产生复杂的、具有生物学意义的基于色彩的信号。该项目的目的是以蝴蝶翅膀图案为模型系统，探索结构色彩的发育遗传学。蝴蝶翅膀形成大量分化的上皮细胞阵列，这些细胞决定了鳞片的命运，并最终决定了翅膀的最终颜色模式。颜色是个别翼鳞的色素和/或结构的结果，它们反射不同波长的光。与基于颜料的颜色不同，结构颜色是由操纵光行为的三维纳米结构产生的。虽然基于色素的变异的发育和遗传基础在广泛的生物体中得到了很好的理解，但对导致结构着色的生殖过程知之甚少。蝴蝶鳞片类型在太空中的自然排列，它们的性别二型性，以及在整个发育过程中分析翅膀上特定位置基因表达模式的能力，为识别负责模式形成和激活高度专业化的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，本研究旨在提供基因网络变化和细胞结构变异之间的直接联系。项目团队成员还将实施一项多方面的外展和教育计划，该计划将(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收学生，以及(3)开发一个公共外展计划，让学生参与动手的、基于探究的发现。项目团队的这些努力将确保影响远远超出特定研究对象。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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.