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Westerman EL, Letchinger R, Tenger-Trolander A, Massardo D, Palmer D, Kronforst MR. Does male preference play a role in maintaining female limited polymorphism in a Batesian mimetic butterfly? Behav Processes 2018; 150:47-58. [PMID: 29471021 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2018.02.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2017] [Revised: 01/16/2018] [Accepted: 02/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Female-limited polymorphism occurs in multiple butterfly species with Batesian mimicry. While frequency-dependent selection is often argued as the driving force behind polymorphism in Batesian mimicry systems, male preference and alternative female mating strategies may also influence the maintenance of multiple female forms. Through a series of behavioural assays with the female-limited Batesian mimetic butterfly Papilio polytes, we show that males prefer stationary mimetic females over stationary non-mimetic females, but weigh female activity levels more heavily than female wing pattern when choosing between active mimetic and active non-mimetic females. Male preference for mimetic vs. non-mimetic females is independent of male genotype at the locus responsible for the female wing pattern, the autosomal gene doublesex. However male genotype does influence their response to active females. Male emphasis on female behaviour instead of appearance may reduce sexual selection pressures on female morphology, thereby facilitating frequency-dependent natural selection due to predation risk and toxic model abundance.
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Affiliation(s)
- E L Westerman
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, University of Chicago, 1101 E. 57th St., Chicago, IL 60637, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas, 850 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA.
| | - R Letchinger
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, University of Chicago, 1101 E. 57th St., Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
| | - A Tenger-Trolander
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, University of Chicago, 1101 E. 57th St., Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
| | - D Massardo
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, University of Chicago, 1101 E. 57th St., Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
| | - D Palmer
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, University of Chicago, 1101 E. 57th St., Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
| | - M R Kronforst
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, University of Chicago, 1101 E. 57th St., Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
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Kunte K, Zhang W, Tenger-Trolander A, Palmer DH, Martin A, Reed RD, Mullen SP, Kronforst MR. doublesex is a mimicry supergene. Nature 2014; 507:229-32. [PMID: 24598547 DOI: 10.1038/nature13112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 228] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2013] [Accepted: 01/30/2014] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
One of the most striking examples of sexual dimorphism is sex-limited mimicry in butterflies, a phenomenon in which one sex--usually the female--mimics a toxic model species, whereas the other sex displays a different wing pattern. Sex-limited mimicry is phylogenetically widespread in the swallowtail butterfly genus Papilio, in which it is often associated with female mimetic polymorphism. In multiple polymorphic species, the entire wing pattern phenotype is controlled by a single Mendelian 'supergene'. Although theoretical work has explored the evolutionary dynamics of supergene mimicry, there are almost no empirical data that address the critical issue of what a mimicry supergene actually is at a functional level. Using an integrative approach combining genetic and association mapping, transcriptome and genome sequencing, and gene expression analyses, we show that a single gene, doublesex, controls supergene mimicry in Papilio polytes. This is in contrast to the long-held view that supergenes are likely to be controlled by a tightly linked cluster of loci. Analysis of gene expression and DNA sequence variation indicates that isoform expression differences contribute to the functional differences between dsx mimicry alleles, and protein sequence evolution may also have a role. Our results combine elements from different hypotheses for the identity of supergenes, showing that a single gene can switch the entire wing pattern among mimicry phenotypes but may require multiple, tightly linked mutations to do so.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Kunte
- 1] National Center for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bengaluru 560065, India [2]
| | - W Zhang
- 1] Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA [2]
| | - A Tenger-Trolander
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
| | - D H Palmer
- Committee on Evolutionary Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
| | - A Martin
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
| | - R D Reed
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA
| | - S P Mullen
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA
| | - M R Kronforst
- 1] Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA [2] Committee on Evolutionary Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA
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