Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 18, 2025
08:33
Determination of Photoreceptor Cell Spectral Sensitivity in an Insect Model from In Vivo Intracellular Recordings
Published on: February 26, 2016
11.8K
The evolution of structural colour in butterflies.
Victoria J Lloyd1, Nicola J Nadeau1
1Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Alfred Denny Building, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
Current Opinion in Genetics & Development
|February 4, 2021
Summary
Butterflies use intricate nanostructures on their scales to create stunning structural colors. Recent advances in technology reveal new insights into the evolution and development of these butterfly wing colors.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Biophysics
- Materials science
Background:
- Butterflies exhibit vibrant structural colors generated by nanostructures on their wing scales.
- These nanostructures manipulate light, creating a diverse range of optical effects in nature.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent advances in understanding the evolution of structural color in butterflies.
- To discuss new insights into the genetic and developmental basis of these colors.
Main Methods:
- Review of current scientific literature.
- Analysis of recent findings enabled by -omic and advanced imaging technologies.
Main Results:
- New understanding of the genetic and developmental pathways underlying butterfly structural colors.
- Appreciation of the diversity of optical nanostructures and their evolutionary trajectories.
Conclusions:
- Technological advancements are crucial for unraveling the complexities of butterfly structural color evolution.
- Further research will continue to illuminate the interplay between genetics, development, and nanostructure evolution.
Related Concept Videos
01:07Speciation Rates
22.1K
Overview
22.1K
01:21Frequency-dependent Selection
22.6K
When the fitness of a trait is influenced by how common it is (i.e., its frequency) relative to different traits within a population, this is referred to as frequency-dependent selection. Frequency-dependent selection may occur between species or within a single species. This type of selection can either be positive—with more common phenotypes having higher fitness—or negative, with rarer phenotypes conferring increased fitness.
22.6K
01:32What is Natural Selection?
123.9K
Natural selection is an evolutionary process in which individuals with survival-promoting traits reproduce at higher rates. These favorable traits become more common within a population or species. Naturally selected traits initially arise via random genetic mutations. In order for selection to occur, there must be variation within a population, the trait controlling the variation must be heritable, and there must be an evolutionary advantage for variation in the trait.
123.9K
02:32Position-effect Variegation
6.8K
In 1928, a German botanist Emil Heitz observed the moss nuclei with a DNA binding dye. He observed that while some chromatin regions decondense and spread out in the interphase nucleus, others do not. He termed them euchromatin and heterochromatin, respectively. He proposed that the heterochromatin regions reflect a functionally inactive state of the genome. It was later confirmed that heterochromatin is transcriptionally repressed, and euchromatin is transcriptionally active chromatin.
6.8K
02:40Pollination and Flower Structure
74.2K
Flowers are the reproductive, seed-producing structures of angiosperms. Typically, flowers consist of sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels. Sepals and petals are the vegetative flower organs. Stamens and carpels are the reproductive organs.
74.2K
01:20Mate Choice
11.2K
Mate choice—the decision about whom to mate with—is a type of natural selection, since animals must reproduce to pass down their genes. Mate choice is also called intersexual selection because the behavior occurs between the sexes.
11.2K