Video Experimental Relacionado

Updated: Apr 23, 2026

Manipulation of Color Patterns in Jumping Spiders for Use in Behavioral Experiments

Manipulation of Color Patterns in Jumping Spiders for Use in Behavioral Experiments

Published on: May 21, 2019

La genética de la migración de la mariposa monarca y la coloración de advertencia

Shuai Zhan¹, Wei Zhang², Kristjan Niitepõld³

¹1] Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China [2] Department of Ecology &Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA [3] Department of Neurobiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, USA.

|October 3, 2014

Resumen

Las mariposas monarca (Danaus plexippus) son migratorias ancestrales, originarias de América del Norte. El análisis genético revela que los genes del músculo de vuelo impulsan la eficiencia de la migración y un solo gen de miosina controla la coloración de advertencia.

Área de la Ciencia:

Biología evolutiva Biología evolutiva.
La genómica es la genómica.
Comportamiento animal Comportamiento animal.

Sus antecedentes:

La mariposa monarca (Danaus plexippus) es famosa por su extensa migración norteamericana, su propagación global y su coloración aposemática (advertencia).
A pesar del significativo interés público y décadas de investigación, los fundamentos genéticos de estos rasgos distintivos siguen siendo en gran medida desconocidos.

Objetivo del estudio:

Para investigar la historia evolutiva y los patrones de dispersión global de la mariposa monarca.
Identificar la base genética del comportamiento migratorio y la coloración de advertencia en Danaus plexippus.

Principales métodos:

Secuenciación de 101 genomas de Danaus de diversas poblaciones mundiales.
Análisis genómico comparativo para detectar firmas de selección.
Identificación de genes y vías asociadas con la migración y la pigmentación.

Principales resultados:

El estudio revela que Danaus plexippus se originó en América del Norte y fue ancestralmente migratorio, dispersándose posteriormente en todo el mundo.
Las firmas de selección genética más fuertes para la migración están vinculadas a la función muscular del vuelo, mejorando la eficiencia del vuelo.
La variación en la coloración de advertencia del monarca se atribuye a un solo gen de miosina, previamente no asociado con la pigmentación de los insectos.

Conclusiones:

La arquitectura genética de la migración y coloración de la mariposa monarca está más definida de lo que se entendía anteriormente.
Esta investigación proporciona un nuevo marco genético para comprender la evolución y adaptación de esta especie icónica.

Más Videos Relacionados

In situ Protocol for Butterfly Pupal Wings Using Riboprobes

In situ Protocol for Butterfly Pupal Wings Using Riboprobes

Published on: May 28, 2007

Author Spotlight: Investigating the Tolerance of Cabbage Butterflies to Urban Pollutants

Author Spotlight: Investigating the Tolerance of Cabbage Butterflies to Urban Pollutants

Published on: August 18, 2023

Videos de Conceptos Relacionados

Migration

Migration

Migration is long-range, seasonal movement from one region or habitat to another. This common strategy, carried out by many different organisms around the world, is an adaptive response that typically corresponds to changes in an organism’s environment, like resource availability or climate. Migrations can involve huge groups of thousands of animals as well as single individuals traveling alone and can range from thousands of kilometers to just a few hundred meters.

Frequency-dependent Selection

Frequency-dependent Selection

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.

Background and Environment Affect Phenotype

Background and Environment Affect Phenotype

Although the genetic makeup of an organism plays a major role in determining the phenotype, there are also several environmental factors, such as temperature, oxygen availability, presence of mutagens, that can alter an organism’s phenotype.
An example of how genetic background affects phenotype can be seen in horses. The Extension gene in horses is responsible for their coat color. A wild-type gene (EE) produces black pigment in the coat, while a mutant gene (ee) produces red pigment. A...

Speciation Rates

Speciation Rates

Predator-Prey Interactions

Predator-Prey Interactions

Predators consume prey for energy. Predators that acquire prey and prey that avoid predation both increase their chances of survival and reproduction (i.e., fitness). Routine predator-prey interactions elicit mutual adaptations that improve predator offenses, such as claws, teeth, and speed, as well as prey defenses, including crypsis, aposematism, and mimicry. Thus, predator-prey interactions resemble an evolutionary arms race.

Mate Choice

Mate Choice

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.