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Wingless and aristaless2 define a developmental ground plan for moth and butterfly wing pattern evolution.

Arnaud Martin1, Robert D Reed

  • 1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA. arnaudm@uci.edu

Molecular Biology and Evolution
|July 14, 2010
PubMed
Summary

Butterfly wing patterns evolve through modifications of conserved elements. A novel gene, aristaless2 (al2), predates pattern formation, suggesting it facilitated the evolution of wing stripes in Lepidoptera.

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Area of Science:

  • Developmental biology
  • Evolutionary genetics
  • Insect morphology

Background:

  • Butterfly wing patterns exhibit conserved homologies, suggesting evolution via modification of serially repeated elements.
  • Understanding the genetic basis of these patterns is key to deciphering evolutionary radiation of complex morphologies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the evolution and development of stripe wing pattern elements in Lepidoptera.
  • To identify novel genes involved in the determination of wing pattern elements.

Main Methods:

  • Examined expression patterns of the morphogen wingless (wg) across diverse Lepidoptera.
  • Described and characterized a novel Lepidoptera-specific homeobox gene, aristaless2 (al2).
  • Analyzed the evolutionary origin and divergence of al2 relative to its paralog, aristaless1 (al1).

Main Results:

  • Wingless (wg) expression correlates with the determination of basal, discal, and marginal stripe patterns, supporting homology across moths and butterflies.
  • Identified aristaless2 (al2) as a novel gene preceding wg expression in discal DII stripe determination.
  • al2 evolved from a tandem duplication of aristaless and shows rapid divergence, with its expression domain preceding DII pattern evolution.

Conclusions:

  • The novel gene al2 may have facilitated the evolution of DII wing patterns through a developmental drive mechanism.
  • Unlike eyespot evolution, the origin of major stripe patterns in Lepidoptera is linked to the evolution of a novel homeobox gene.