Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Elements of butterfly wing patterns.

H F Nijhout1

  • 1Department of Biology, Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology Group, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708-0338, USA. hfn@duke.edu

The Journal of Experimental Zoology
|October 13, 2001
PubMed
Summary

Butterfly wing color patterns are unique due to individuated elements, allowing study of their evolution. Developmental compartmentalization enabled pattern diversification and the radiation of butterfly wing designs.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Modulation of serotonin transporter expression by escitalopram under inflammation.

Communications biology·2024
Same author

Morphological Murals: The Scaling and Allometry of Butterfly Wing Patterns.

Integrative and comparative biology·2019
Same author

Homeostasis despite instability.

Mathematical biosciences·2018
Same author

A mathematical model for histamine synthesis, release, and control in varicosities.

Theoretical biology & medical modelling·2017
Same author

The role of skeletal muscle in liver glutathione metabolism during acetaminophen overdose.

Journal of theoretical biology·2015
Same author

Bursts and the efficacy of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.

Pharmacopsychiatry·2011

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Developmental biology
  • Insect morphology

Background:

  • Butterfly wing color patterns feature unique, identifiable elements unlike vertebrate patterns.
  • These elements possess identities traceable across species, genera, and families, enabling homology recognition.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the evolutionary origins of individuated butterfly wing pattern elements.
  • To understand how developmental processes contributed to the diversification of these patterns.

Main Methods:

  • Comparative analysis of wing pattern elements across butterfly species.
  • Developmental genetics and evolutionary developmental biology approaches to study pattern formation.

Main Results:

  • Individuated pattern elements evolved from non-individuated precursors through wing compartmentalization.
  • Compartmentalization led to developmental autonomy, serial homology, and site-specific regulation of pattern elements.
  • This process facilitated morphological divergence and reduced developmental constraints, enabling evolutionary radiation.

Conclusions:

  • The evolution of individuated pattern elements via developmental compartmentalization is key to butterfly wing pattern diversity.
  • Novel arrangements of these elements drive species-specific patterns, including mimicry and camouflage adaptations.

Related Experiment Videos