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Briscoe AD. A genetic cause of male mate preference. Science 2024; 383:1290-1291. [PMID: 38513043 DOI: 10.1126/science.ado4079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/23/2024]
Abstract
A gene for mate preference has been shared between hybridizing butterfly species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana D Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
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2
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Chakraborty M, Lara AG, Dang A, McCulloch KJ, Rainbow D, Carter D, Ngo LT, Solares E, Said I, Corbett-Detig RB, Gilbert LE, Emerson JJ, Briscoe AD. Sex-linked gene traffic underlies the acquisition of sexually dimorphic UV color vision in Heliconius butterflies. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2301411120. [PMID: 37552755 PMCID: PMC10438391 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2301411120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The acquisition of novel sexually dimorphic traits poses an evolutionary puzzle: How do new traits arise and become sex-limited? Recently acquired color vision, sexually dimorphic in animals like primates and butterflies, presents a compelling model for understanding how traits become sex-biased. For example, some Heliconius butterflies uniquely possess UV (ultraviolet) color vision, which correlates with the expression of two differentially tuned UV-sensitive rhodopsins, UVRh1 and UVRh2. To discover how such traits become sexually dimorphic, we studied Heliconius charithonia, which exhibits female-specific UVRh1 expression. We demonstrate that females, but not males, discriminate different UV wavelengths. Through whole-genome shotgun sequencing and assembly of the H. charithonia genome, we discovered that UVRh1 is present on the W chromosome, making it obligately female-specific. By knocking out UVRh1, we show that UVRh1 protein expression is absent in mutant female eye tissue, as in wild-type male eyes. A PCR survey of UVRh1 sex-linkage across the genus shows that species with female-specific UVRh1 expression lack UVRh1 gDNA in males. Thus, acquisition of sex linkage is sufficient to achieve female-specific expression of UVRh1, though this does not preclude other mechanisms, like cis-regulatory evolution from also contributing. Moreover, both this event, and mutations leading to differential UV opsin sensitivity, occurred early in the history of Heliconius. These results suggest a path for acquiring sexual dimorphism distinct from existing mechanistic models. We propose a model where gene traffic to heterosomes (the W or the Y) genetically partitions a trait by sex before a phenotype shifts (spectral tuning of UV sensitivity).
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahul Chakraborty
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA92697
- Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX77843
| | | | - Andrew Dang
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA92697
| | - Kyle J. McCulloch
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA92697
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN55108
| | - Dylan Rainbow
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA92697
| | - David Carter
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA92521
| | - Luna Thanh Ngo
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA92697
| | - Edwin Solares
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA92697
| | - Iskander Said
- Department of Biomolecular Engineering and Genomics Institute, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA95064
| | - Russell B. Corbett-Detig
- Department of Biomolecular Engineering and Genomics Institute, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA95064
| | | | - J. J. Emerson
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA92697
| | - Adriana D. Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA92697
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3
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McCulloch KJ, Macias-Muñoz A, Briscoe AD. Insect opsins and evo-devo: what have we learned in 25 years? Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210288. [PMID: 36058243 PMCID: PMC9441233 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2021] [Accepted: 01/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The visual pigments known as opsins are the primary molecular basis for colour vision in animals. Insects are among the most diverse of animal groups and their visual systems reflect a variety of life histories. The study of insect opsins in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has led to major advances in the fields of neuroscience, development and evolution. In the last 25 years, research in D. melanogaster has improved our understanding of opsin genotype-phenotype relationships while comparative work in other insects has expanded our understanding of the evolution of insect eyes via gene duplication, coexpression and homologue switching. Even so, until recently, technology and sampling have limited our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms that evolution uses to shape the diversity of insect eyes. With the advent of genome editing and in vitro expression assays, the study of insect opsins is poised to reveal new frontiers in evolutionary biology, visual neuroscience, and animal behaviour. This article is part of the theme issue 'Understanding colour vision: molecular, physiological, neuronal and behavioural studies in arthropods'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle J. McCulloch
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Aide Macias-Muñoz
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Adriana D. Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, 321 Steinhaus Hall, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
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4
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Abstract
The evolution of color vision is often studied through the lens of receptor gain relative to an ancestor with fewer spectral classes of photoreceptor. For instance, in Heliconius butterflies, a genus-specific UVRh opsin duplication led to the evolution of UV color discrimination in Heliconius erato females, a rare trait among butterflies. However, color vision evolution is not well understood in the context of loss. In Heliconius melpomene and Heliconius ismenius lineages, the UV2 receptor subtype has been lost, which limits female color vision in shorter wavelengths. Here, we compare the visual systems of butterflies that have either retained or lost the UV2 photoreceptor using intracellular recordings, ATAC-seq, and antibody staining. We identify several ways these butterflies modulate their color vision. In H. melpomene, chromatin reorganization has downregulated an otherwise intact UVRh2 gene, whereas in H. ismenius, pseudogenization has led to the truncation of UVRh2. In species that lack the UV2 receptor, the peak sensitivity of the remaining UV1 photoreceptor cell is shifted to longer wavelengths. Across Heliconius, we identify the widespread use of filtering pigments and co-expression of two opsins in the same photoreceptor cells. Multiple mechanisms of spectral tuning, including the molecular evolution of blue opsins, have led to the divergence of receptor sensitivities between species. The diversity of photoreceptor and ommatidial subtypes between species suggests that Heliconius visual systems are under varying selection pressures for color discrimination. Modulating the wavelengths of peak sensitivities of both the blue- and remaining UV-sensitive photoreceptor cells suggests that Heliconius species may have compensated for UV receptor loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle J McCulloch
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, 321 Steinhaus Hall, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.,Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Aide Macias-Muñoz
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, 321 Steinhaus Hall, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.,Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara CA 93106, USA.,Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Ali Mortazavi
- Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Adriana D Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, 321 Steinhaus Hall, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
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5
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Auranen K, Briscoe AD, Ferreira LS, Grahn T, Greenlees PT, Herzáň A, Illana A, Joss DT, Joukainen H, Julin R, Jutila H, Leino M, Louko J, Luoma M, Maglione E, Ojala J, Page RD, Pakarinen J, Rahkila P, Romero J, Ruotsalainen P, Sandzelius M, Sarén J, Tolosa-Delgado A, Uusitalo J, Zimba G. Nanosecond-Scale Proton Emission from Strongly Oblate-Deformed ^{149}Lu. Phys Rev Lett 2022; 128:112501. [PMID: 35363028 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.128.112501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Revised: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 02/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Using the fusion-evaporation reaction ^{96}Ru(^{58}Ni,p4n)^{149}Lu and the MARA vacuum-mode recoil separator, a new proton-emitting isotope ^{149}Lu has been identified. The measured decay Q value of 1920(20) keV is the highest measured for a ground-state proton decay, and it naturally leads to the shortest directly measured half-life of 450_{-100}^{+170} ns for a ground-state proton emitter. The decay rate is consistent with l_{p}=5 emission, suggesting a dominant πh_{11/2} component for the wave function of the proton-emitting state. Through nonadiabatic quasiparticle calculations it was concluded that ^{149}Lu is the most oblate deformed proton emitter observed to date.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Auranen
- Accelerator Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - A D Briscoe
- Accelerator Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - L S Ferreira
- Centro de Física e Engenharia de Materiais Avançados CeFEMA, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida Rovisco Pais, P1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - T Grahn
- Accelerator Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - P T Greenlees
- Accelerator Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - A Herzáň
- Institute of Physics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, SK-84511 Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - A Illana
- Accelerator Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - D T Joss
- Department of Physics, Oliver Lodge Laboratory, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZE, United Kingdom
| | - H Joukainen
- Accelerator Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - R Julin
- Accelerator Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - H Jutila
- Accelerator Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - M Leino
- Accelerator Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - J Louko
- Accelerator Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - M Luoma
- Accelerator Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - E Maglione
- Centro de Física e Engenharia de Materiais Avançados CeFEMA, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Avenida Rovisco Pais, P1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
| | - J Ojala
- Accelerator Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - R D Page
- Department of Physics, Oliver Lodge Laboratory, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZE, United Kingdom
| | - J Pakarinen
- Accelerator Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - P Rahkila
- Accelerator Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - J Romero
- Accelerator Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
- Department of Physics, Oliver Lodge Laboratory, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZE, United Kingdom
| | - P Ruotsalainen
- Accelerator Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - M Sandzelius
- Accelerator Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - J Sarén
- Accelerator Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - A Tolosa-Delgado
- Accelerator Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - J Uusitalo
- Accelerator Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - G Zimba
- Accelerator Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Jyväskylä, FI-40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
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6
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Krishna A, Nie X, Briscoe AD, Lee J. Air temperature drives the evolution of mid-infrared optical properties of butterfly wings. Sci Rep 2021; 11:24143. [PMID: 34921152 PMCID: PMC8683501 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02810-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2021] [Accepted: 11/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
This study uncovers a correlation between the mid-infrared emissivity of butterfly wings and the average air temperature of their habitats across the world. Butterflies from cooler climates have a lower mid-infrared emissivity, which limits heat losses to surroundings, and butterflies from warmer climates have a higher mid-infrared emissivity, which enhances radiative cooling. The mid-infrared emissivity showed no correlation with other investigated climatic factors. Phylogenetic independent contrasts analysis indicates the microstructures of butterfly wings may have evolved in part to regulate mid-infrared emissivity as an adaptation to climate, rather than as phylogenetic inertia. Our findings offer new insights into the role of microstructures in thermoregulation and suggest both evolutionary and physical constraints to butterflies' abilities to adapt to climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anirudh Krishna
- Intel Corporation, Hillsboro, OR, 97124, USA. .,Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA.
| | - Xiao Nie
- grid.266093.80000 0001 0668 7243Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697 USA
| | - Adriana D. Briscoe
- grid.266093.80000 0001 0668 7243Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697 USA
| | - Jaeho Lee
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA.
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Abstract
In true color vision, animals discriminate between light wavelengths, regardless of intensity, using at least two photoreceptors with different spectral sensitivity peaks. Heliconius butterflies have duplicate UV opsin genes, which encode ultraviolet and violet photoreceptors, respectively. In Heliconius erato, only females express the ultraviolet photoreceptor, suggesting females (but not males) can discriminate between UV wavelengths. We tested the ability of H. erato, and two species lacking the violet receptor, Heliconius melpomene and Eueides isabella, to discriminate between 380 and 390 nm, and between 400 and 436 nm, after being trained to associate each stimulus with a sugar reward. We found that only H. erato females have color vision in the UV range. Across species, both sexes show color vision in the blue range. Models of H. erato color vision suggest that females have an advantage over males in discriminating the inner UV-yellow corollas of Psiguria flowers from their outer orange petals. Moreover, previous models ( McCulloch et al., 2017) suggested that H. erato males have an advantage over females in discriminating Heliconius 3-hydroxykynurenine (3-OHK) yellow wing coloration from non-3-OHK yellow wing coloration found in other heliconiines. These results provide some of the first behavioral evidence for female H. erato UV color discrimination in the context of foraging, lending support to the hypothesis ( Briscoe et al., 2010) that the duplicated UV opsin genes function together in UV color vision. Taken together, the sexually dimorphic visual system of H. erato appears to have been shaped by both sexual selection and sex-specific natural selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan D Finkbeiner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.,Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Long Beach, CA 90840, USA
| | - Adriana D Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
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8
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Mullen SP, VanKuren NW, Zhang W, Nallu S, Kristiansen EB, Wuyun Q, Liu K, Hill RI, Briscoe AD, Kronforst MR. Disentangling Population History and Character Evolution among Hybridizing Lineages. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 37:1295-1305. [PMID: 31930401 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msaa004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the origin and maintenance of adaptive phenotypic novelty is a central goal of evolutionary biology. However, both hybridization and incomplete lineage sorting can lead to genealogical discordance between the regions of the genome underlying adaptive traits and the remainder of the genome, decoupling inferences about character evolution from population history. Here, to disentangle these effects, we investigated the evolutionary origins and maintenance of Batesian mimicry between North American admiral butterflies (Limenitis arthemis) and their chemically defended model (Battus philenor) using a combination of de novo genome sequencing, whole-genome resequencing, and statistical introgression mapping. Our results suggest that balancing selection, arising from geographic variation in the presence or absence of the unpalatable model, has maintained two deeply divergent color patterning haplotypes that have been repeatedly sieved among distinct mimetic and nonmimetic lineages of Limenitis via introgressive hybridization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean P Mullen
- Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA
| | | | - Wei Zhang
- School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Sumitha Nallu
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
| | | | - Qiqige Wuyun
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
| | - Kevin Liu
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
| | - Ryan I Hill
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA
| | - Adriana D Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA
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9
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Drewniak ME, Briscoe AD, Cocucci AA, Beccacece HM, Zapata AI, Moré M. From the butterfly’s point of view: learned colour association determines differential pollination of two co-occurring mock verbains by Agraulis vanillae (Nymphalidae). Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blaa066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Learning plays an important role in the location and utilization of nectar sources for pollinators. In this work we focus on the plant-pollinator interaction between the butterfly Agraulis vanillae (Nymphalidae) and two Glandularia plant species (Verbenaceae) that grow in sympatry. Bioassays using arrays of artificial flowers (red vs. lilac-purple) showed that naïve A. vanillae butterflies do not have innate colour preferences for any of the tested colours. Trained butterflies were able to learn to associate both floral colours with the presence of nectar rewards. Wild A. vanillae butterflies visited the red flowers of Glandularia peruviana much more frequently than the lilac-purple flowers of Glandularia venturii. Standing nectar crop measurements showed that G. peruviana flowers offered three times more sucrose than the flowers of G. venturii. Analyses confirmed that corolla colour of G. peruviana (red flowers) and G. venturii (lilac-purple flowers) were discriminable in the butterfly’s colour space. These findings may indicate flexibility in A. vanillae preferences due to a learned association between red coloration and higher nectar rewards.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Eugenia Drewniak
- Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (CONICET-UNC), Córdoba, Argentina
- Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Adriana D Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Andrea A Cocucci
- Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (CONICET-UNC), Córdoba, Argentina
- Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Hernán M Beccacece
- Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Adriana I Zapata
- Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Marcela Moré
- Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (CONICET-UNC), Córdoba, Argentina
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Atilano SR, Kenney MC, Briscoe AD, Jameson KA. A two-step method for identifying photopigment opsin and rhodopsin gene sequences underlying human color vision phenotypes. Mol Vis 2020; 26:158-172. [PMID: 32180681 PMCID: PMC7058431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2019] [Accepted: 03/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose To present a detailed, reliable long range-PCR and sequencing (LR-PCR-Seq) procedure to identify human opsin gene sequences for variations in the long wavelength-sensitive (OPN1LW), medium wavelength-sensitive (OPN1MW), short wavelength-sensitive (OPN1SW), and rhodopsin (RHO) genes. Methods Color vision was assessed for nine subjects using the Farnsworth-Munsell 100 hue test, Ishihara pseudoisochromatic plates, and the Rabin cone-contrast threshold procedure (ColorDX, Konan Medical). The color vision phenotypes were normal trichromacy (n = 3), potential tetrachromacy (n = 3), dichromacy (n = 2), and unexplained low color vision (n = 1). DNA was isolated from blood or saliva and LR-PCR amplified into individual products: OPN1LW (4,045 bp), OPN1MW (4,045 bp), OPN1SW (3,326 bp), and RHO (6,715 bp). Each product was sequenced using specific internal primer sets. Analysis was performed with Mutation Surveyor software. Results The LR-PCR-Seq technique identified known single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in OPN1LW and OPN1MW gene codons (180, 230, 233, 277, and 285), as well as those for lesser studied codons (174, 178, 236, 274, 279, 298 and 309) in the OPN1LW and OPN1MW genes. Additionally, six SNP variants in the OPN1MW and OPN1LW genes not previously reported in the NCBI dbSNP database were identified. An unreported poly-T region within intron 5(c.36+126) of the rhodopsin gene was also found, and analysis showed it to be highly conserved in mammalian species. Conclusions This LR-PCR-Seq procedure (single PCR reaction per gene followed by sequencing) can identify exonic and intronic SNP variants in OPN1LW, OPN1MW, OPN1SW, and rhodopsin genes. There is no need for restriction enzyme digestion or multiple PCR steps that can introduce errors. Future studies will combine the LR-PCR-Seq with perceptual behavior measures, allowing for accurate correlations between opsin genotypes, retinal photopigment phenotypes, and color perception behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shari R. Atilano
- Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA
| | - M. Cristina Kenney
- Gavin Herbert Eye Institute, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA,Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA
| | - Adriana D. Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA
| | - Kimberly A. Jameson
- Institute for Mathematical Behavioral Sciences, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA
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11
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Catalán A, Briscoe AD, Höhna S. Drift and Directional Selection Are the Evolutionary Forces Driving Gene Expression Divergence in Eye and Brain Tissue of Heliconius Butterflies. Genetics 2019; 213:581-594. [PMID: 31467133 PMCID: PMC6781903 DOI: 10.1534/genetics.119.302493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2019] [Accepted: 08/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Investigating gene expression evolution over micro- and macroevolutionary timescales will expand our understanding of the role of gene expression in adaptation and speciation. In this study, we characterized the evolutionary forces acting on gene expression levels in eye and brain tissue of five Heliconius butterflies with divergence times of ∼5-12 MYA. We developed and applied Brownian motion (BM) and Ornstein-Uhlenbeck (OU) models to identify genes whose expression levels are evolving through drift, stabilizing selection, or a lineage-specific shift. We found that 81% of the genes evolve under genetic drift. When testing for branch-specific shifts in gene expression, we detected 368 (16%) shift events. Genes showing a shift toward upregulation have significantly lower gene expression variance than those genes showing a shift leading toward downregulation. We hypothesize that directional selection is acting in shifts causing upregulation, since transcription is costly. We further uncovered through simulations that parameter estimation of OU models is biased when using small phylogenies and only becomes reliable with phylogenies having ≥ 50 taxa. Therefore, we developed a new statistical test based on BM to identify highly conserved genes (i.e., evolving under strong stabilizing selection), which comprised 3% of the orthoclusters. In conclusion, we found that drift is the dominant evolutionary force driving gene expression evolution in eye and brain tissue in Heliconius Nevertheless, the higher proportion of genes evolving under directional than under stabilizing selection might reflect species-specific selective pressures on vision and the brain that are necessary to fulfill species-specific requirements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Catalán
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre (EBC), Uppsala University, 75236, Sweden
- Division of Evolutionary Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Planegg-Martinsried 82152, Germany
| | - Adriana D Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, California 92697
| | - Sebastian Höhna
- Division of Evolutionary Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Planegg-Martinsried 82152, Germany
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Paleontology and Geobiology, 80333 Munich, Germany
- GeoBio-Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80333 Munich, Germany
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12
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Abstract
Vision is underpinned by phototransduction, a signaling cascade that converts light energy into an electrical signal. Among insects, phototransduction is best understood in Drosophila melanogaster. Comparison of D. melanogaster against three insect species found several phototransduction gene gains and losses, however, lepidopterans were not examined. Diurnal butterflies and nocturnal moths occupy different light environments and have distinct eye morphologies, which might impact the expression of their phototransduction genes. Here we investigated: 1) how phototransduction genes vary in gene gain or loss between D. melanogaster and Lepidoptera, and 2) variations in phototransduction genes between moths and butterflies. To test our prediction of phototransduction differences due to distinct visual ecologies, we used insect reference genomes, phylogenetics, and moth and butterfly head RNA-Seq and transcriptome data. As expected, most phototransduction genes were conserved between D. melanogaster and Lepidoptera, with some exceptions. Notably, we found two lepidopteran opsins lacking a D. melanogaster ortholog. Using antibodies we found that one of these opsins, a candidate retinochrome, which we refer to as unclassified opsin (UnRh), is expressed in the crystalline cone cells and the pigment cells of the butterfly, Heliconius melpomene. Our results also show that butterflies express similar amounts of trp and trpl channel mRNAs, whereas moths express ∼50× less trp, a potential adaptation to darkness. Our findings suggest that while many single-copy D. melanogaster phototransduction genes are conserved in lepidopterans, phototransduction gene expression differences exist between moths and butterflies that may be linked to their visual light environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aide Macias-Muñoz
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine
| | | | - Adriana D Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine
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13
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Finkbeiner SD, Salazar PA, Nogales S, Rush CE, Briscoe AD, Hill RI, Kronforst MR, Willmott KR, Mullen SP. Frequency dependence shapes the adaptive landscape of imperfect Batesian mimicry. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 285:rspb.2017.2786. [PMID: 29618547 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.2786] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [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: 12/13/2017] [Accepted: 03/12/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite more than a century of biological research on the evolution and maintenance of mimetic signals, the relative frequencies of models and mimics necessary to establish and maintain Batesian mimicry in natural populations remain understudied. Here we investigate the frequency-dependent dynamics of imperfect Batesian mimicry, using predation experiments involving artificial butterfly models. We use two geographically distinct populations of Adelpha butterflies that vary in their relative frequencies of a putatively defended model (Adelpha iphiclus) and Batesian mimic (Adelpha serpa). We found that in Costa Rica, where both species share similar abundances, Batesian mimicry breaks down, and predators more readily attack artificial butterfly models of the presumed mimic, A. serpa By contrast, in Ecuador, where A. iphiclus (model) is significantly more abundant than A. serpa (mimic), both species are equally protected from predation. Our results provide compelling experimental evidence that imperfect Batesian mimicry is frequency-dependent on the relative abundance of models and mimics in natural populations, and contribute to the growing body of evidence that complex dynamics, such as seasonality or the availability of alternative prey, influence the evolution of mimetic traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan D Finkbeiner
- Department of Biological Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA .,Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Patricio A Salazar
- McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Sofía Nogales
- Department of Biology, Pontifica Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Cassidi E Rush
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA 95211, USA
| | - Adriana D Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Ryan I Hill
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA 95211, USA
| | - Marcus R Kronforst
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Keith R Willmott
- McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Sean P Mullen
- Department of Biological Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
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14
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Smith G, Kelly JE, Macias-Muñoz A, Butts CT, Martin RW, Briscoe AD. Evolutionary and structural analyses uncover a role for solvent interactions in the diversification of cocoonases in butterflies. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 285:rspb.2017.2037. [PMID: 29298934 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.2037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [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: 09/14/2017] [Accepted: 12/01/2017] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Multi-omic approaches promise to supply the power to detect genes underlying disease and fitness-related phenotypes. Optimal use of the resulting profusion of data requires detailed investigation of individual candidate genes, a challenging proposition. Here, we combine transcriptomic and genomic data with molecular modelling of candidate enzymes to characterize the evolutionary history and function of the serine protease cocoonase. Heliconius butterflies possess the unique ability to feed on pollen; recent work has identified cocoonase as a candidate gene in pollen digestion. Cocoonase was first described in moths, where it aids in eclosure from the cocoon and is present as a single copy gene. In heliconiine butterflies it is duplicated and highly expressed in the mouthparts of adults. At least six copies of cocoonase are present in Heliconius melpomene and copy number varies across H. melpomene sub-populations. Most cocoonase genes are under purifying selection, however branch-site analyses suggest cocoonase 3 genes may have evolved under episodic diversifying selection. Molecular modelling of cocoonase proteins and examination of their predicted structures revealed that the active site region of each type has a similar structure to trypsin, with the same predicted substrate specificity across types. Variation among heliconiine cocoonases instead lies in the outward-facing residues involved in solvent interaction. Thus, the neofunctionalization of cocoonase duplicates appears to have resulted from the need for these serine proteases to operate in diverse biochemical environments. We suggest that cocoonase may have played a buffering role in feeding during the diversification of Heliconius across the neotropics by enabling these butterflies to digest protein from a range of biochemical milieux.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Smith
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA .,School of Biological Sciences, Bangor University, Brambell Laboratories, Bangor, Gwynedd, UK
| | - J E Kelly
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - A Macias-Muñoz
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - C T Butts
- Department of Sociology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.,Department of Statistics, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.,Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - R W Martin
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.,Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - A D Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
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15
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Palmer DH, Tan YQ, Finkbeiner SD, Briscoe AD, Monteiro A, Kronforst MR. Experimental field tests of Batesian mimicry in the swallowtail butterfly Papilio polytes. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:7657-7666. [PMID: 30151179 PMCID: PMC6106175 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2018] [Revised: 04/13/2018] [Accepted: 04/19/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The swallowtail butterfly Papilio polytes is known for its striking resemblance in wing pattern to the toxic butterfly Pachliopta aristolochiae and is a focal system for the study of mimicry evolution. Papilio polytes females are polymorphic in wing pattern, with mimetic and nonmimetic forms, while males are monomorphic and nonmimetic. Past work invokes selection for mimicry as the driving force behind wing pattern evolution in P. polytes. However, the mimetic relationship between P. polytes and P. aristolochiae is not well understood. In order to test the mimicry hypothesis, we constructed paper replicas of mimetic and nonmimetic P. polytes and P. aristolochiae, placed them in their natural habitat, and measured bird predation on replicas. In initial trials with stationary replicas and plasticine bodies, overall predation was low and we found no differences in predation between replica types. In later trials with replicas mounted on springs and with live mealworms standing in for the butterfly's body, we found less predation on mimetic P. polytes replicas compared to nonmimetic P. polytes replicas, consistent with the predator avoidance benefits of mimicry. While our results are mixed, they generally lend support to the mimicry hypothesis as well as the idea that behavioral differences between the sexes contributed to the evolution of sexually dimorphic mimicry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela H. Palmer
- Committee on Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of ChicagoChicagoIllinois
- Department of Ecology and EvolutionUniversity of ChicagoChicagoIllinois
| | - Yue Qian Tan
- Department of Biological SciencesNational University of SingaporeSingaporeSingapore
| | - Susan D. Finkbeiner
- Department of Ecology and EvolutionUniversity of ChicagoChicagoIllinois
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of CaliforniaIrvineCalifornia
| | - Adriana D. Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of CaliforniaIrvineCalifornia
| | - Antónia Monteiro
- Department of Biological SciencesNational University of SingaporeSingaporeSingapore
| | - Marcus R. Kronforst
- Committee on Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of ChicagoChicagoIllinois
- Department of Ecology and EvolutionUniversity of ChicagoChicagoIllinois
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16
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Catalán A, Macias-Muñoz A, Briscoe AD. Evolution of Sex-Biased Gene Expression and Dosage Compensation in the Eye and Brain of Heliconius Butterflies. Mol Biol Evol 2018; 35:2120-2134. [DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msy111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Ana Catalán
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA
- Section of Evolutionary Biology, Department of Biology II, Ludwig Maximilians Universität, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Aide Macias-Muñoz
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA
| | - Adriana D Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA
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17
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Macias-Muñoz A, McCulloch KJ, Briscoe AD. Copy Number Variation and Expression Analysis Reveals a Nonorthologous Pinta Gene Family Member Involved in Butterfly Vision. Genome Biol Evol 2017; 9:3398-3412. [PMID: 29136137 PMCID: PMC5739039 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evx230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/08/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Vertebrate (cellular retinaldehyde-binding protein) and Drosophila (prolonged depolarization afterpotential is not apparent [PINTA]) proteins with a CRAL-TRIO domain transport retinal-based chromophores that bind to opsin proteins and are necessary for phototransduction. The CRAL-TRIO domain gene family is composed of genes that encode proteins with a common N-terminal structural domain. Although there is an expansion of this gene family in Lepidoptera, there is no lepidopteran ortholog of pinta. Further, the function of these genes in lepidopterans has not yet been established. Here, we explored the molecular evolution and expression of CRAL-TRIO domain genes in the butterfly Heliconius melpomene in order to identify a member of this gene family as a candidate chromophore transporter. We generated and searched a four tissue transcriptome and searched a reference genome for CRAL-TRIO domain genes. We expanded an insect CRAL-TRIO domain gene phylogeny to include H. melpomene and used 18 genomes from 4 subspecies to assess copy number variation. A transcriptome-wide differential expression analysis comparing four tissue types identified a CRAL-TRIO domain gene, Hme CTD31, upregulated in heads suggesting a potential role in vision for this CRAL-TRIO domain gene. RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry confirmed that Hme CTD31 and its protein product are expressed in the retina, specifically in primary and secondary pigment cells and in tracheal cells. Sequencing of eye protein extracts that fluoresce in the ultraviolet identified Hme CTD31 as a possible chromophore binding protein. Although we found several recent duplications and numerous copy number variants in CRAL-TRIO domain genes, we identified a single copy pinta paralog that likely binds the chromophore in butterflies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aide Macias-Muñoz
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine
| | - Kyle J McCulloch
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine.,FAS Center for Systems Biology, Harvard University
| | - Adriana D Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine
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18
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Wilts BD, Vey AJM, Briscoe AD, Stavenga DG. Longwing (Heliconius) butterflies combine a restricted set of pigmentary and structural coloration mechanisms. BMC Evol Biol 2017; 17:226. [PMID: 29162029 PMCID: PMC5699198 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-017-1073-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2017] [Accepted: 11/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Longwing butterflies, Heliconius sp., also called heliconians, are striking examples of diversity and mimicry in butterflies. Heliconians feature strongly colored patterns on their wings, arising from wing scales colored by pigments and/or nanostructures, which serve as an aposematic signal. RESULTS Here, we investigate the coloration mechanisms among several species of Heliconius by applying scanning electron microscopy, (micro)spectrophotometry, and imaging scatterometry. We identify seven kinds of colored scales within Heliconius whose coloration is derived from pigments, nanostructures or both. In yellow-, orange- and red-colored wing patches, both cover and ground scales contain wavelength-selective absorbing pigments, 3-OH-kynurenine, xanthommatin and/or dihydroxanthommatin. In blue wing patches, the cover scales are blue either due to interference of light in the thin-film lower lamina (e.g., H. doris) or in the multilayered lamellae in the scale ridges (so-called ridge reflectors, e.g., H. sara and H. erato); the underlying ground scales are black. In the white wing patches, both cover and ground scales are blue due to their thin-film lower lamina, but because they are stacked upon each other and at the wing substrate, a faint bluish to white color results. Lastly, green wing patches (H. doris) have cover scales with blue-reflecting thin films and short-wavelength absorbing 3-OH-kynurenine, together causing a green color. CONCLUSIONS The pigmentary and structural traits are discussed in relation to their phylogenetic distribution and the evolution of vision in this highly interesting clade of butterflies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bodo D Wilts
- Computational Physics, Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, NL-9747AG, Groningen, The Netherlands.
- Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of Fribourg, Chemin des Verdiers 4, CH-1700, Fribourg, Switzerland.
| | - Aidan J M Vey
- Computational Physics, Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, NL-9747AG, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Adriana D Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
| | - Doekele G Stavenga
- Computational Physics, Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, NL-9747AG, Groningen, The Netherlands
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19
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McCulloch KJ, Yuan F, Zhen Y, Aardema ML, Smith G, Llorente-Bousquets J, Andolfatto P, Briscoe AD. Sexual Dimorphism and Retinal Mosaic Diversification following the Evolution of a Violet Receptor in Butterflies. Mol Biol Evol 2017; 34:2271-2284. [DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msx163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
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20
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Finkbeiner SD, Fishman DA, Osorio D, Briscoe AD. Ultraviolet and yellow reflectance but not fluorescence is important for visual discrimination of conspecifics by Heliconius erato. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017; 220:1267-1276. [PMID: 28108668 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.153593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [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: 11/21/2016] [Accepted: 01/11/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Toxic Heliconius butterflies have yellow hindwing bars that - unlike those of their closest relatives - reflect ultraviolet (UV) and long wavelength light, and also fluoresce. The pigment in the yellow scales is 3-hydroxy-dl-kynurenine (3-OHK), which is found in the hair and scales of a variety of animals. In other butterflies like pierids with color schemes characterized by independent sources of variation in UV and human-visible yellow/orange, behavioral experiments have generally implicated the UV component as most relevant to mate choice. This has not been addressed in Heliconius butterflies, where variation exists in analogous color components, but moreover where fluorescence due to 3-OHK could also contribute to yellow wing coloration. In addition, the potential cost due to predator visibility is largely unknown for the analogous well-studied pierid butterfly species. In field studies with butterfly paper models, we show that both UV and 3-OHK yellow act as signals for H. erato when compared with models lacking UV or resembling ancestral Eueides yellow, respectively, but attack rates by birds do not differ significantly between the models. Furthermore, measurement of the quantum yield and reflectance spectra of 3-OHK indicates that fluorescence does not contribute to the visual signal under broad-spectrum illumination. Our results suggest that the use of 3-OHK pigmentation instead of ancestral yellow was driven by sexual selection rather than predation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan D Finkbeiner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA .,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City 0843-03092, Panama.,Department of Biological Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Dmitry A Fishman
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Daniel Osorio
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Adriana D Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
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21
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Finkbeiner SD, Briscoe AD, Mullen SP. Complex dynamics underlie the evolution of imperfect wing pattern convergence in butterflies. Evolution 2017; 71:949-959. [PMID: 28052323 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [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: 08/15/2016] [Accepted: 12/27/2016] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Adaptive radiation is characterized by rapid diversification that is strongly associated with ecological specialization. However, understanding the evolutionary mechanisms fueling adaptive diversification requires a detailed knowledge of how natural selection acts at multiple life-history stages. Butterflies within the genus Adelpha represent one of the largest and most diverse butterfly lineages in the Neotropics. Although Adelpha species feed on an extraordinary diversity of larval hosts, convergent evolution is widespread in this group, suggesting that selection for mimicry may contribute to adaptive divergence among species. To investigate this hypothesis, we conducted predation studies in Costa Rica using artificial butterfly facsimiles. Specifically, we predicted that nontoxic, palatable Adelpha species that do not feed on host plants in the family Rubiaceae would benefit from sharing a locally convergent wing pattern with the presumably toxic Rubiaceae-feeding species via reduced predation. Contrary to expectations, we found that the presumed mimic was attacked significantly more than its locally convergent model at a frequency paralleling attack rates on both novel and palatable prey. Although these data reveal the first evidence for protection from avian predators by the supposed toxic, Rubiaceae-feeding Adelpha species, we conclude that imprecise mimetic patterns have high costs for Batesian mimics in the tropics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan D Finkbeiner
- Department of Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston, Massachusetts, 02215
| | - Adriana D Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, California, 92697
| | - Sean P Mullen
- Department of Biology, Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Boston, Massachusetts, 02215
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22
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Smith G, Macias-Muñoz A, Briscoe AD. Gene Duplication and Gene Expression Changes Play a Role in the Evolution of Candidate Pollen Feeding Genes in Heliconius Butterflies. Genome Biol Evol 2016; 8:2581-96. [PMID: 27553646 PMCID: PMC5010911 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evw180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Heliconius possess a unique ability among butterflies to feed on pollen. Pollen feeding significantly extends their lifespan, and is thought to have been important to the diversification of the genus. We used RNA sequencing to examine feeding-related gene expression in the mouthparts of four species of Heliconius and one nonpollen feeding species, Eueides isabella. We hypothesized that genes involved in morphology and protein metabolism might be upregulated in Heliconius because they have longer proboscides than Eueides, and because pollen contains more protein than nectar. Using de novo transcriptome assemblies, we tested these hypotheses by comparing gene expression in mouthparts against antennae and legs. We first looked for genes upregulated in mouthparts across all five species and discovered several hundred genes, many of which had functional annotations involving metabolism of proteins (cocoonase), lipids, and carbohydrates. We then looked specifically within Heliconius where we found eleven common upregulated genes with roles in morphology (CPR cuticle proteins), behavior (takeout-like), and metabolism (luciferase-like). Closer examination of these candidates revealed that cocoonase underwent several duplications along the lineage leading to heliconiine butterflies, including two Heliconius-specific duplications. Luciferase-like genes also underwent duplication within lepidopterans, and upregulation in Heliconius mouthparts. Reverse-transcription PCR confirmed that three cocoonases, a peptidase, and one luciferase-like gene are expressed in the proboscis with little to no expression in labial palps and salivary glands. Our results suggest pollen feeding, like other dietary specializations, was likely facilitated by adaptive expansions of preexisting genes—and that the butterfly proboscis is involved in digestive enzyme production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gilbert Smith
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Aide Macias-Muñoz
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
| | - Adriana D Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
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23
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Kanost MR, Arrese EL, Cao X, Chen YR, Chellapilla S, Goldsmith MR, Grosse-Wilde E, Heckel DG, Herndon N, Jiang H, Papanicolaou A, Qu J, Soulages JL, Vogel H, Walters J, Waterhouse RM, Ahn SJ, Almeida FC, An C, Aqrawi P, Bretschneider A, Bryant WB, Bucks S, Chao H, Chevignon G, Christen JM, Clarke DF, Dittmer NT, Ferguson LCF, Garavelou S, Gordon KHJ, Gunaratna RT, Han Y, Hauser F, He Y, Heidel-Fischer H, Hirsh A, Hu Y, Jiang H, Kalra D, Klinner C, König C, Kovar C, Kroll AR, Kuwar SS, Lee SL, Lehman R, Li K, Li Z, Liang H, Lovelace S, Lu Z, Mansfield JH, McCulloch KJ, Mathew T, Morton B, Muzny DM, Neunemann D, Ongeri F, Pauchet Y, Pu LL, Pyrousis I, Rao XJ, Redding A, Roesel C, Sanchez-Gracia A, Schaack S, Shukla A, Tetreau G, Wang Y, Xiong GH, Traut W, Walsh TK, Worley KC, Wu D, Wu W, Wu YQ, Zhang X, Zou Z, Zucker H, Briscoe AD, Burmester T, Clem RJ, Feyereisen R, Grimmelikhuijzen CJP, Hamodrakas SJ, Hansson BS, Huguet E, Jermiin LS, Lan Q, Lehman HK, Lorenzen M, Merzendorfer H, Michalopoulos I, Morton DB, Muthukrishnan S, Oakeshott JG, Palmer W, Park Y, Passarelli AL, Rozas J, Schwartz LM, Smith W, Southgate A, Vilcinskas A, Vogt R, Wang P, Werren J, Yu XQ, Zhou JJ, Brown SJ, Scherer SE, Richards S, Blissard GW. Multifaceted biological insights from a draft genome sequence of the tobacco hornworm moth, Manduca sexta. Insect Biochem Mol Biol 2016; 76:118-147. [PMID: 27522922 PMCID: PMC5010457 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2016.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 114] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2016] [Revised: 06/27/2016] [Accepted: 07/14/2016] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Manduca sexta, known as the tobacco hornworm or Carolina sphinx moth, is a lepidopteran insect that is used extensively as a model system for research in insect biochemistry, physiology, neurobiology, development, and immunity. One important benefit of this species as an experimental model is its extremely large size, reaching more than 10 g in the larval stage. M. sexta larvae feed on solanaceous plants and thus must tolerate a substantial challenge from plant allelochemicals, including nicotine. We report the sequence and annotation of the M. sexta genome, and a survey of gene expression in various tissues and developmental stages. The Msex_1.0 genome assembly resulted in a total genome size of 419.4 Mbp. Repetitive sequences accounted for 25.8% of the assembled genome. The official gene set is comprised of 15,451 protein-coding genes, of which 2498 were manually curated. Extensive RNA-seq data from many tissues and developmental stages were used to improve gene models and for insights into gene expression patterns. Genome wide synteny analysis indicated a high level of macrosynteny in the Lepidoptera. Annotation and analyses were carried out for gene families involved in a wide spectrum of biological processes, including apoptosis, vacuole sorting, growth and development, structures of exoskeleton, egg shells, and muscle, vision, chemosensation, ion channels, signal transduction, neuropeptide signaling, neurotransmitter synthesis and transport, nicotine tolerance, lipid metabolism, and immunity. This genome sequence, annotation, and analysis provide an important new resource from a well-studied model insect species and will facilitate further biochemical and mechanistic experimental studies of many biological systems in insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael R Kanost
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA.
| | - Estela L Arrese
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA
| | - Xiaolong Cao
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA
| | - Yun-Ru Chen
- Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell University, Tower Road, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
| | - Sanjay Chellapilla
- KSU Bioinformatics Center, Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA
| | - Marian R Goldsmith
- Biological Sciences Department, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, 02881, USA
| | - Ewald Grosse-Wilde
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Hans-Knoell-Strasse, 8, D-07745, Jena, Germany
| | - David G Heckel
- Department of Entomology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knoell-Strasse 8, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Nicolae Herndon
- KSU Bioinformatics Center, Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA
| | - Haobo Jiang
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA
| | - Alexie Papanicolaou
- Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Richmond, NSW, 2753, Australia
| | - Jiaxin Qu
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Jose L Soulages
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA
| | - Heiko Vogel
- Department of Entomology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knoell-Strasse 8, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - James Walters
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Univ. Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 66045, USA
| | - Robert M Waterhouse
- Department of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva Medical School, rue Michel-Servet 1, 1211, Geneva, Switzerland; Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, rue Michel-Servet 1, 1211, Geneva, Switzerland; Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 32 Vassar Street, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA; The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, 415 Main Street, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Seung-Joon Ahn
- Department of Entomology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knoell-Strasse 8, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Francisca C Almeida
- Departament de Genètica and Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Chunju An
- Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Peshtewani Aqrawi
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Anne Bretschneider
- Department of Entomology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knoell-Strasse 8, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - William B Bryant
- Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA
| | - Sascha Bucks
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Hans-Knoell-Strasse, 8, D-07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Hsu Chao
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Germain Chevignon
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte, UMR CNRS 7261, UFR Sciences et Techniques, Université François-Rabelais, Tours, France
| | - Jayne M Christen
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA
| | - David F Clarke
- CSIRO Land and Water, Clunies Ross St, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Neal T Dittmer
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA
| | | | - Spyridoula Garavelou
- Centre of Systems Biology, Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Karl H J Gordon
- CSIRO Health and Biosecurity, Clunies Ross St, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Ramesh T Gunaratna
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA
| | - Yi Han
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Frank Hauser
- Center for Functional and Comparative Insect Genomics, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-21oo, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Yan He
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA
| | - Hanna Heidel-Fischer
- Department of Entomology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knoell-Strasse 8, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Ariana Hirsh
- Department of Biology, Barnard College, Columbia University, 3009 Broadway, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Yingxia Hu
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA
| | - Hongbo Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Entomology and Pest Control Engineering, College of Plant Protection, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Divya Kalra
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Christian Klinner
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Hans-Knoell-Strasse, 8, D-07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Christopher König
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Hans-Knoell-Strasse, 8, D-07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Christie Kovar
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Ashley R Kroll
- Department of Biology, Reed College, Portland, OR, 97202, USA
| | - Suyog S Kuwar
- Department of Entomology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knoell-Strasse 8, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Sandy L Lee
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Rüdiger Lehman
- Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME), Bioresources Project Group, Winchesterstrasse 2, 35394, Gießen, Germany
| | - Kai Li
- College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai, 201620, China
| | - Zhaofei Li
- College of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China
| | - Hanquan Liang
- McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development, UT Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX, 75390, USA
| | - Shanna Lovelace
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern Maine, Portland, ME, 04104, USA
| | - Zhiqiang Lu
- College of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, China
| | - Jennifer H Mansfield
- Department of Biology, Barnard College, Columbia University, 3009 Broadway, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Kyle J McCulloch
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
| | - Tittu Mathew
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Brian Morton
- Department of Biology, Barnard College, Columbia University, 3009 Broadway, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Donna M Muzny
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - David Neunemann
- Department of Entomology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knoell-Strasse 8, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Fiona Ongeri
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Yannick Pauchet
- Department of Entomology, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Hans-Knoell-Strasse 8, 07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Ling-Ling Pu
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Ioannis Pyrousis
- Centre of Systems Biology, Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Xiang-Jun Rao
- School of Plant Protection, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui, China
| | - Amanda Redding
- Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Charles Roesel
- Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Alejandro Sanchez-Gracia
- Departament de Genètica and Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Sarah Schaack
- Department of Biology, Reed College, Portland, OR, 97202, USA
| | - Aditi Shukla
- Department of Biology, Barnard College, Columbia University, 3009 Broadway, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - Guillaume Tetreau
- Department of Entomology, Cornell University, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, NY, 14456, USA
| | - Yang Wang
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA
| | - Guang-Hua Xiong
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Walther Traut
- Institut fuer Biologie, Universitaet Luebeck, D-23538, Luebeck, Germany
| | - Tom K Walsh
- CSIRO Land and Water, Clunies Ross St, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Kim C Worley
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Di Wu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA
| | - Wenbi Wu
- Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA
| | - Yuan-Qing Wu
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Xiufeng Zhang
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, 74078, USA
| | - Zhen Zou
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Hannah Zucker
- Neuroscience Program, Hamilton College, Clinton, NY, 13323, USA
| | - Adriana D Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
| | | | - Rollie J Clem
- Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA
| | - René Feyereisen
- Department of Crop Protection, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Cornelis J P Grimmelikhuijzen
- Center for Functional and Comparative Insect Genomics, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, DK-21oo, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Stavros J Hamodrakas
- Department of Cell Biology and Biophysics, Faculty of Biology, University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Bill S Hansson
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Department of Evolutionary Neuroethology, Hans-Knoell-Strasse, 8, D-07745, Jena, Germany
| | - Elisabeth Huguet
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l'Insecte, UMR CNRS 7261, UFR Sciences et Techniques, Université François-Rabelais, Tours, France
| | - Lars S Jermiin
- CSIRO Land and Water, Clunies Ross St, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Que Lan
- Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA
| | - Herman K Lehman
- Biology Department and Neuroscience Program, Hamilton College, Clinton, NY, 13323, USA
| | - Marce Lorenzen
- Dept. Entomology, North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC, 27695, USA
| | - Hans Merzendorfer
- University of Siegen, School of Natural Sciences and Engineering, Institute of Biology - Molecular Biology, Adolf-Reichwein-Strasse. 2, AR-C3010, 57076 Siegen, Germany
| | - Ioannis Michalopoulos
- Centre of Systems Biology, Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - David B Morton
- Department of Integrative Biosciences, School of Dentistry, BRB421, L595, Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd., Portland, OR, 97239, USA
| | - Subbaratnam Muthukrishnan
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA
| | - John G Oakeshott
- CSIRO Land and Water, Clunies Ross St, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Will Palmer
- Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Downing St, Cambridge, CB2 3EH, UK
| | - Yoonseong Park
- Department of Entomology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA
| | | | - Julio Rozas
- Departament de Genètica and Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Wendy Smith
- Department of Biology, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Agnes Southgate
- Department of Biology, College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, 29424, USA
| | - Andreas Vilcinskas
- Institute for Insect Biotechnology, Justus-Liebig-University, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26-32, 35392, Giessen, Germany
| | - Richard Vogt
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29205, USA
| | - Ping Wang
- Department of Entomology, Cornell University, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, NY, 14456, USA
| | - John Werren
- Department of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, 14627, USA
| | - Xiao-Qiang Yu
- University of Missouri-Kansas City, 5007 Rockhill Road, Kansas City, MO, 64110, USA
| | - Jing-Jiang Zhou
- Department of Biological Chemistry and Crop Protection, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, Herts, AL5 2JQ, UK
| | - Susan J Brown
- KSU Bioinformatics Center, Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA
| | - Steven E Scherer
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Stephen Richards
- Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Gary W Blissard
- Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell University, Tower Road, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
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24
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van Schooten B, Jiggins CD, Briscoe AD, Papa R. Genome-wide analysis of ionotropic receptors provides insight into their evolution in Heliconius butterflies. BMC Genomics 2016; 17:254. [PMID: 27004525 PMCID: PMC4804616 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-016-2572-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2015] [Accepted: 03/07/2016] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In a world of chemical cues, smell and taste are essential senses for survival. Here we focused on Heliconius, a diverse group of butterflies that exhibit variation in pre- and post-zygotic isolation and chemically-mediated behaviors across their phylogeny. Our study examined the ionotropic receptors, a recently discovered class of receptors that are some of the most ancient chemical receptors. RESULTS We found more ionotropic receptors in Heliconius (31) than in Bombyx mori (25) or in Danaus plexippus (27). Sixteen genes in Lepidoptera were not present in Diptera. Only IR7d4 was exclusively found in butterflies and two expansions of IR60a were exclusive to Heliconius. A genome-wide comparison between 11 Heliconius species revealed instances of pseudogenization, gene gain, and signatures of positive selection across the phylogeny. IR60a2b and IR60a2d are unique to the H. melpomene, H. cydno, and H. timareta clade, a group where chemosensing is likely involved in pre-zygotic isolation. IR60a2b also displayed copy number variations (CNVs) in distinct populations of H. melpomene and was the only gene significantly higher expressed in legs and mouthparts than in antennae, which suggests a gustatory function. dN/dS analysis suggests more frequent positive selection in some intronless IR genes and in particular in the sara/sapho and melpomene/cydno/timareta clades. IR60a1 was the only gene with an elevated dN/dS along a major phylogenetic branch associated with pupal mating. Only IR93a was differentially expressed between sexes. CONCLUSIONS All together these data make Heliconius butterflies one of the very few insects outside Drosophila where IRs have been characterized in detail. Our work outlines a dynamic pattern of IR gene evolution throughout the Heliconius radiation which could be the result of selective pressure to find potential mates or host-plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bas van Schooten
- Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
| | - Chris D Jiggins
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Adriana D Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
| | - Riccardo Papa
- Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico
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25
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McCulloch KJ, Osorio D, Briscoe AD. Determination of Photoreceptor Cell Spectral Sensitivity in an Insect Model from In Vivo Intracellular Recordings. J Vis Exp 2016:53829. [PMID: 26966935 DOI: 10.3791/53829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Intracellular recording is a powerful technique used to determine how a single cell may respond to a given stimulus. In vision research, intracellular recording has historically been a common technique used to study sensitivities of individual photoreceptor cells to different light stimuli that is still being used today. However, there remains a dearth of detailed methodology in the literature for researchers wishing to replicate intracellular recording experiments in the eye. Here we present the insect as a model for examining eye physiology more generally. Insect photoreceptor cells are located near the surface of the eye and are therefore easy to reach, and many of the mechanisms involved in vision are conserved across animal phyla. We describe the basic procedure for in vivo intracellular recording of photoreceptor cells in the eye of a butterfly, with the goal of making this technique more accessible to researchers with little prior experience in electrophysiology. We introduce the basic equipment needed, how to prepare a live butterfly for recording, how to insert a glass microelectrode into a single cell, and finally the recording procedure itself. We also explain the basic analysis of raw response data for determining spectral sensitivity of individual cell types. Although our protocol focuses on determining spectral sensitivity, other stimuli (e.g., polarized light) and variations of the method are applicable to this setup.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle J McCulloch
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine
| | | | - Adriana D Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine;
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26
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McCulloch KJ, Osorio D, Briscoe AD. Sexual dimorphism in the compound eye of Heliconius erato: a nymphalid butterfly with at least five spectral classes of photoreceptor. J Exp Biol 2016; 219:2377-87. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.136523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2015] [Accepted: 05/23/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Most butterfly families expand the number of spectrally-distinct photoreceptors in their compound eye by opsin gene duplications together with lateral filter pigments, however most nymphalid genera have limited diversity, with only three or four spectral types of photoreceptor. Here we examine the spatial pattern of opsin expression and photoreceptor spectral sensitivities in Heliconius erato, a nymphalid with duplicate ultraviolet opsin genes, UVRh1 and UVRh2. We find that the H. erato compound eye is sexually dimorphic. Females express the two UV opsin proteins in separate photoreceptors, but males do not express UVRh1. Intracellular recordings confirmed that females have three short wavelength-sensitive photoreceptors (λmax=356 nm, ∼390 nm and 470 nm), while males have two (λmax=390 nm and ∼470 nm). We also found two long wavelength-sensitive photoreceptors (green, λmax ∼555 nm, and red, λmax ∼600 nm), which express the same LW opsin. The red cell's shifted sensitivity is probably due to perirhabdomal filtering pigments. Sexual dimorphism of the UV-absorbing rhodopsins may reflect the females' need to discriminate conspecifics from co-mimics. Red-green color vision may be used to detect differences in red coloration on Heliconius wings, or for host-plant identification. Among nymphalids so far investigated, only H. erato is known to possess five spectral classes of photoreceptor; sexual dimorphism of the eye via suppression of one class of opsin (here UVRh1 in males) has not—to our knowledge—been reported in any animal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle J. McCulloch
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, 321 Steinhaus Hall, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Daniel Osorio
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QG, United Kingdom
| | - Adriana D. Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, 321 Steinhaus Hall, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
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27
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Macias-Muñoz A, Smith G, Monteiro A, Briscoe AD. Transcriptome-Wide Differential Gene Expression in Bicyclus anynana Butterflies: Female Vision-Related Genes Are More Plastic. Mol Biol Evol 2015; 33:79-92. [PMID: 26371082 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msv197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Vision is energetically costly to maintain. Consequently, over time many cave-adapted species downregulate the expression of vision genes or even lose their eyes and associated eye genes entirely. Alternatively, organisms that live in fluctuating environments, with different requirements for vision at different times, may evolve phenotypic plasticity for expression of vision genes. Here, we use a global transcriptomic and candidate gene approach to compare gene expression in the heads of a polyphenic butterfly. Bicyclus anynana have two seasonal forms that display sexual dimorphism and plasticity in eye morphology, and female-specific plasticity in opsin gene expression. Nonchoosy dry season females downregulate opsin expression, consistent with the high physiological cost of vision. To identify other genes associated with sexually dimorphic and seasonally plastic differences in vision, we analyzed RNA-sequencing data from whole head tissues. We identified two eye development genes (klarsicht and warts homologs) and an eye pigment biosynthesis gene (henna) differentially expressed between seasonal forms. By comparing sex-specific expression across seasonal forms, we found that klarsicht, warts, henna, and another eye development gene (domeless) were plastic in a female-specific manner. In a male-only analysis, white (w) was differentially expressed between seasonal forms. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction confirmed that warts and white are expressed in eyes only, whereas klarsicht, henna and domeless are expressed in both eyes and brain. We find that differential expression of eye development and eye pigment genes is associated with divergent eye phenotypes in B. anynana seasonal forms, and that there is a larger effect of season on female vision-related genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aide Macias-Muñoz
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action
| | - Gilbert Smith
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action
| | - Antónia Monteiro
- Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore Yale-NUS College, Singapore
| | - Adriana D Briscoe
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action
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28
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Rolán-Alvarez E, Carvajal-Rodríguez A, de Coo A, Cortés B, Estévez D, Ferreira M, González R, Briscoe AD. The scale-of-choice effect and how estimates of assortative mating in the wild can be biased due to heterogeneous samples. Evolution 2015; 69:1845-57. [DOI: 10.1111/evo.12691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2014] [Accepted: 05/13/2015] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Emilio Rolán-Alvarez
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Xenética e Inmunoloxía, Facultade de Bioloxía; Universidad de Vigo; 36310 Vigo Spain
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; University of California; Irvine California 92697
| | - Antonio Carvajal-Rodríguez
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Xenética e Inmunoloxía, Facultade de Bioloxía; Universidad de Vigo; 36310 Vigo Spain
| | - Alicia de Coo
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Xenética e Inmunoloxía, Facultade de Bioloxía; Universidad de Vigo; 36310 Vigo Spain
| | - Beatriz Cortés
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Xenética e Inmunoloxía, Facultade de Bioloxía; Universidad de Vigo; 36310 Vigo Spain
| | - Daniel Estévez
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Xenética e Inmunoloxía, Facultade de Bioloxía; Universidad de Vigo; 36310 Vigo Spain
| | - Mar Ferreira
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Xenética e Inmunoloxía, Facultade de Bioloxía; Universidad de Vigo; 36310 Vigo Spain
| | - Rubén González
- Departamento de Bioquímica, Xenética e Inmunoloxía, Facultade de Bioloxía; Universidad de Vigo; 36310 Vigo Spain
| | - Adriana D. Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; University of California; Irvine California 92697
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29
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Smith G, Briscoe AD. Molecular evolution and expression of the CRAL_TRIO protein family in insects. Insect Biochem Mol Biol 2015; 62:168-173. [PMID: 25684408 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2015.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2014] [Revised: 01/29/2015] [Accepted: 02/03/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
CRAL_TRIO domain proteins are known to bind small lipophilic molecules such as retinal, inositol and Vitamin E and include such gene family members as PINTA, α-tocopherol transfer (ATT) proteins, retinoid binding proteins, and clavesins. In insects, very little is known about either the molecular evolution of this family of proteins or their ligand specificity. Here we characterize insect CRAL_TRIO domain proteins and present the first insect CRAL_TRIO protein phylogeny constructed by performing reciprocal BLAST searches of the reference genomes of Drosophila melanogaster, Anopheles gambiae, Apis mellifera, Tribolium castaneum, Bombyx mori, Manduca sexta and Danaus plexippus. We find several highly conserved amino acid residues in the CRAL_TRIO domain-containing genes across insects and a gene expansion resulting in more than twice as many gene family members in lepidopterans than in other surveyed insect species, but no lepidopteran homolog of the PINTA gene in Drosophila. In addition, we examined the expression pattern of CRAL_TRIO domain genes in Manduca sexta heads using RNA-Seq data. Of the 42 gene family members found in the M. sexta reference genome, we found 30 expressed in the head tissue with similar expression profiles between males and females. Our results suggest this gene family underwent a large expansion in lepidopteran, making the lepidopteran CRAL_TRIO domain family distinct from other holometabolous insect lineages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gilbert Smith
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
| | - Adriana D Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
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30
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Ebel ER, DaCosta JM, Sorenson MD, Hill RI, Briscoe AD, Willmott KR, Mullen SP. Rapid diversification associated with ecological specialization in NeotropicalAdelphabutterflies. Mol Ecol 2015; 24:2392-405. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.13168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2014] [Revised: 03/17/2015] [Accepted: 03/18/2015] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Emily R. Ebel
- Department of Biology; Boston University; Boston MA 02215 USA
| | | | | | - Ryan I. Hill
- Department of Biological Sciences; University of the Pacific; Stockton CA 95211 USA
| | - Adriana D. Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; University of California; Irvine CA 92697 USA
| | - Keith R. Willmott
- McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity; Florida Museum of Natural History; University of Florida; Gainesville FL 32611 USA
| | - Sean P. Mullen
- Department of Biology; Boston University; Boston MA 02215 USA
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Frentiu FD, Yuan F, Savage WK, Bernard GD, Mullen SP, Briscoe AD. Opsin clines in butterflies suggest novel roles for insect photopigments. Mol Biol Evol 2014; 32:368-79. [PMID: 25371434 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msu304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Opsins are ancient molecules that enable animal vision by coupling to a vitamin-derived chromophore to form light-sensitive photopigments. The primary drivers of evolutionary diversification in opsins are thought to be visual tasks related to spectral sensitivity and color vision. Typically, only a few opsin amino acid sites affect photopigment spectral sensitivity. We show that opsin genes of the North American butterfly Limenitis arthemis have diversified along a latitudinal cline, consistent with natural selection due to environmental factors. We sequenced single nucleotide (SNP) polymorphisms in the coding regions of the ultraviolet (UVRh), blue (BRh), and long-wavelength (LWRh) opsin genes from ten butterfly populations along the eastern United States and found that a majority of opsin SNPs showed significant clinal variation. Outlier detection and analysis of molecular variance indicated that many SNPs are under balancing selection and show significant population structure. This contrasts with what we found by analysing SNPs in the wingless and EF-1 alpha loci, and from neutral amplified fragment length polymorphisms, which show no evidence of significant locus-specific or genome-wide structure among populations. Using a combination of functional genetic and physiological approaches, including expression in cell culture, transgenic Drosophila, UV-visible spectroscopy, and optophysiology, we show that key BRh opsin SNPs that vary clinally have almost no effect on spectral sensitivity. Our results suggest that opsin diversification in this butterfly is more consistent with natural selection unrelated to spectral tuning. Some of the clinally varying SNPs may instead play a role in regulating opsin gene expression levels or the thermostability of the opsin protein. Lastly, we discuss the possibility that insect opsins might have important, yet-to-be elucidated, adaptive functions in mediating animal responses to abiotic factors, such as temperature or photoperiod.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca D Frentiu
- Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, and School of Biomedical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, QLD, Australia Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine
| | - Furong Yuan
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine
| | - Wesley K Savage
- Center for Ecology and Conservation Biology and Department of Biology, Boston University Department of Biological Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Lowell
| | - Gary D Bernard
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle
| | - Sean P Mullen
- Center for Ecology and Conservation Biology and Department of Biology, Boston University
| | - Adriana D Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine
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Abstract
Sex chromosome dosage compensation balances homogametic sex chromosome expression with autosomal expression in the heterogametic sex, leading to sex chromosome expression parity between the sexes. If compensation is incomplete, this can lead to expression imbalance and sex-biased gene expression. Recent work has uncovered an intriguing and variable pattern of dosage compensation across species that includes a lack of complete dosage compensation in ZW species compared with XY species. This has led to the hypothesis that ZW species do not require complete compensation or that complete compensation would negatively affect their fitness. To date, only one study, a study of the moth Bombyx mori, has discovered evidence for complete dosage compensation in a ZW species. We examined another moth species, Manduca sexta, using high-throughput sequencing to survey gene expression in the head tissue of males and females. We found dosage compensation to be complete in M. sexta with average expression between the Z chromosome in males and females being equal. When genes expressed at very low levels are removed by filtering, we found that average autosome expression was highly similar to average Z expression, suggesting that the majority of genes in M. sexta are completely dosage compensated. Further, this compensation was accompanied by sex-specific gene expression associated with important sexually dimorphic traits. We suggest that complete dosage compensation in ZW species might be more common than previously appreciated and linked to additional selective processes, such as sexual selection. More ZW and lepidopteran species should now be examined in a phylogenetic framework, to understand the evolution of dosage compensation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gilbert Smith
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine
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Finkbeiner SD, Briscoe AD, Reed RD. Warning signals are seductive: relative contributions of color and pattern to predator avoidance and mate attraction in Heliconius butterflies. Evolution 2014; 68:3410-20. [PMID: 25200939 DOI: 10.1111/evo.12524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [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: 06/07/2013] [Accepted: 08/16/2014] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Visual signaling in animals can serve many uses, including predator deterrence and mate attraction. In many cases, signals used to advertise unprofitability to predators are also used for intraspecific communication. Although aposematism and mate choice are significant forces driving the evolution of many animal phenotypes, the interplay between relevant visual signals remains little explored. Here, we address this question in the aposematic passion-vine butterfly Heliconius erato by using color- and pattern-manipulated models to test the contributions of different visual features to both mate choice and warning coloration. We found that the relative effectiveness of a model at escaping predation was correlated with its effectiveness at inducing mating behavior, and in both cases wing color was more predictive of presumptive fitness benefits than wing pattern. Overall, however, a combination of the natural (local) color and pattern was most successful for both predator deterrence and mate attraction. By exploring the relative contributions of color versus pattern composition in predation and mate preference studies, we have shown how both natural and sexual selection may work in parallel to drive the evolution of specific animal color patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan D Finkbeiner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, California, 92697; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, 0843-03092, Panama.
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Martin A, McCulloch KJ, Patel NH, Briscoe AD, Gilbert LE, Reed RD. Multiple recent co-options of Optix associated with novel traits in adaptive butterfly wing radiations. EvoDevo 2014; 5:7. [PMID: 24499528 PMCID: PMC3922110 DOI: 10.1186/2041-9139-5-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2013] [Accepted: 11/27/2013] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Background While the ecological factors that drive phenotypic radiations are often well understood, less is known about the generative mechanisms that cause the emergence and subsequent diversification of novel features. Heliconius butterflies display an extraordinary diversity of wing patterns due in part to mimicry and sexual selection. Identifying the genetic drivers of this crucible of evolution is now within reach, as it was recently shown that cis-regulatory variation of the optix transcription factor explains red pattern differences in the adaptive radiations of the Heliconius melpomene and Heliconius erato species groups. Results Here, we compare the developmental expression of the Optix protein across a large phylogenetic sample of butterflies and infer that its color patterning role originated at the base of the neotropical passion-vine butterfly clade (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Tribe: Heliconiini), shortly predating multiple Optix-driven wing pattern radiations in the speciose Heliconius and Eueides genera. We also characterize novel Optix and Doublesex expression in the male-specific pheromone wing scales of the basal heliconiines Dryas and Agraulis, thus illustrating that within the Heliconinii lineage, Optix has been evolutionarily redeployed in multiple contexts in association with diverse wing features. Conclusions Our findings reveal that the repeated co-option of Optix into various aspects of wing scale specification was associated with multiple evolutionary novelties over a relatively short evolutionary time scale. In particular, the recruitment of Optix expression in colored scale cell precursors was a necessary condition to the explosive diversification of passion-vine butterfly wing patterns. The novel deployment of a gene followed by spatial modulation of its expression in a given cell type could be a common mode of developmental innovation for triggering phenotypic radiations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arnaud Martin
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
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35
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Leboulle G, Niggebrügge C, Roessler R, Briscoe AD, Menzel R, Hempel de Ibarra N. Characterisation of the RNA interference response against the long-wavelength receptor of the honeybee. Insect Biochem Mol Biol 2013; 43:959-969. [PMID: 23933285 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2013.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2013] [Revised: 07/23/2013] [Accepted: 07/25/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Targeted knock-down is the method of choice to advance the study of sensory and brain functions in the honeybee by using molecular techniques. Here we report the results of a first attempt to interfere with the function of a visual receptor, the long-wavelength-sensitive (L-) photoreceptor. RNA interference to inhibit this receptor led to a reduction of the respective mRNA and protein. The interference effect was limited in time and space, and its induction depended on the time of the day most probably because of natural daily variations in opsin levels. The inhibition did not effectively change the physiological properties of the retina. Possible constraints and implications of this method for the study of the bee's visual system are discussed. Overall this study underpins the usefulness and feasibility of RNA interference as manipulation tool in insect brain research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gérard Leboulle
- Freie Universität Berlin, Institut für Biologie, Neurobiologie, Königin-Luise-Str. 28/30, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
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Briscoe AD, Macias-Muñoz A, Kozak KM, Walters JR, Yuan F, Jamie GA, Martin SH, Dasmahapatra KK, Ferguson LC, Mallet J, Jacquin-Joly E, Jiggins CD. Female behaviour drives expression and evolution of gustatory receptors in butterflies. PLoS Genet 2013; 9:e1003620. [PMID: 23950722 PMCID: PMC3732137 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1003620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 118] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2013] [Accepted: 05/23/2013] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Secondary plant compounds are strong deterrents of insect oviposition and feeding, but may also be attractants for specialist herbivores. These insect-plant interactions are mediated by insect gustatory receptors (Grs) and olfactory receptors (Ors). An analysis of the reference genome of the butterfly Heliconius melpomene, which feeds on passion-flower vines (Passiflora spp.), together with whole-genome sequencing within the species and across the Heliconius phylogeny has permitted an unprecedented opportunity to study the patterns of gene duplication and copy-number variation (CNV) among these key sensory genes. We report in silico gene predictions of 73 Gr genes in the H. melpomene reference genome, including putative CO2, sugar, sugar alcohol, fructose, and bitter receptors. The majority of these Grs are the result of gene duplications since Heliconius shared a common ancestor with the monarch butterfly or the silkmoth. Among Grs but not Ors, CNVs are more common within species in those gene lineages that have also duplicated over this evolutionary time-scale, suggesting ongoing rapid gene family evolution. Deep sequencing (∼1 billion reads) of transcriptomes from proboscis and labial palps, antennae, and legs of adult H. melpomene males and females indicates that 67 of the predicted 73 Gr genes and 67 of the 70 predicted Or genes are expressed in these three tissues. Intriguingly, we find that one-third of all Grs show female-biased gene expression (n = 26) and nearly all of these (n = 21) are Heliconius-specific Grs. In fact, a significant excess of Grs that are expressed in female legs but not male legs are the result of recent gene duplication. This difference in Gr gene expression diversity between the sexes is accompanied by a striking sexual dimorphism in the abundance of gustatory sensilla on the forelegs of H. melpomene, suggesting that female oviposition behaviour drives the evolution of new gustatory receptors in butterfly genomes. Insects and their chemically-defended hostplants engage in a co-evolutionary arms race but the genetic basis by which suitable host plants are identified by insects is poorly understood. Host plant specializations require specialized sensors by the insects to exploit novel ecological niches. Adult male and female Heliconius butterflies feed on nectar and, unusually for butterflies, on pollen from flowers while their larvae feed on the leaves of passion-flower vines. We have discovered–between sub-species of butterflies-fixed differences in copy-number variation among several putative sugar receptor genes that are located on different chromosomes, raising the possibility of local adaptation around the detection of sugars. We also show that the legs of adult female butterflies, which are used by females when selecting a host plant on which to lay their eggs, express more gustatory (taste) receptor genes than those of male butterflies. These female-biased taste receptors show a significantly higher level of gene duplication than a set of taste receptors expressed in both sexes. Sex-limited behaviour may therefore influence the long-term evolution of physiologically important gene families resulting in a strong genomic signature of ecological adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana D. Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, California, United States of America
- * E-mail: (ADB); (CDJ)
| | - Aide Macias-Muñoz
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, California, United States of America
| | - Krzysztof M. Kozak
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - James R. Walters
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, United States of America
| | - Furong Yuan
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, California, United States of America
| | - Gabriel A. Jamie
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Simon H. Martin
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | | | | | - James Mallet
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Emmanuelle Jacquin-Joly
- INRA, UMR 1272 INRA-UPMC Physiologie de l'Insecte: Signalisation et Communication, Versailles, France
| | - Chris D. Jiggins
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- * E-mail: (ADB); (CDJ)
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37
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Abstract
Background Animals often display phenotypic plasticity in morphologies and behaviors that result in distinct adaptations to fluctuating seasonal environments. The butterfly Bicyclus anynana has two seasonal forms, wet and dry, that vary in wing ornament brightness and in the identity of the sex that performs the most courting and choosing. Rearing temperature is the cue for producing these alternative seasonal forms. We hypothesized that, barring any developmental constraints, vision should be enhanced in the choosy individuals but diminished in the non-choosy individuals due to physiological costs. As a proxy of visual performance we measured eye size, facet lens size, and sensitivity to light, e.g., the expression levels of all opsins, in males and females of both seasonal forms. Results We found that B. anynana eyes displayed significant sexual dimorphism and phenotypic plasticity for both morphology and opsin expression levels, but not all results conformed to our prediction. Males had larger eyes than females across rearing temperatures, and increases in temperature produced larger eyes in both sexes, mostly via increases in facet number. Ommatidia were larger in the choosy dry season (DS) males and transcript levels for all three opsins were significantly lower in the less choosy DS females. Conclusions Opsin level plasticity in females, and ommatidia size plasticity in males supported our visual plasticity hypothesis but males appear to maintain high visual function across both seasons. We discuss our results in the context of distinct sexual and natural selection pressures that may be facing each sex in the wild in each season.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Everett
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
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38
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Abstract
Aposematic passion-vine butterflies from the genus Heliconius form communal roosts on a nightly basis. This behaviour has been hypothesized to be beneficial in terms of information sharing and/or anti-predator defence. To better understand the adaptive value of communal roosting, we tested these two hypotheses in field studies. The information-sharing hypothesis was addressed by examining following behaviour of butterflies departing from natural roosts. We found no evidence of roost mates following one another to resources, thus providing no support for this hypothesis. The anti-predator defence hypothesis was tested using avian-indiscriminable Heliconius erato models placed singly and in aggregations at field sites. A significantly higher number of predation attempts were observed on solitary models versus aggregations of models. This relationship between aggregation size and attack rate suggests that communally roosting butterflies enjoy the benefits of both overall decreased attack frequency as well as a prey dilution effect. Communal roosts probably deter predators through collective aposematism in which aggregations of conspicuous, unpalatable prey communicate a more effective repel signal to predators. On the basis of our results, we propose that predation by birds is a key selective pressure maintaining Heliconius communal roosting behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan D Finkbeiner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
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39
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Bybee SM, Yuan F, Ramstetter MD, Llorente-Bousquets J, Reed RD, Osorio D, Briscoe AD. UV photoreceptors and UV-yellow wing pigments in Heliconius butterflies allow a color signal to serve both mimicry and intraspecific communication. Am Nat 2011; 179:38-51. [PMID: 22173459 DOI: 10.1086/663192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Mimetic wing coloration evolves in butterflies in the context of predator confusion. Unless butterfly eyes have adaptations for discriminating mimetic color variation, mimicry also carries a risk of confusion for the butterflies themselves. Heliconius butterfly eyes, which express recently duplicated ultraviolet (UV) opsins, have such an adaptation. To examine bird and butterfly color vision as sources of selection on butterfly coloration, we studied yellow wing pigmentation in the tribe Heliconiini. We confirmed, using reflectance and mass spectrometry, that only Heliconius use 3-hydroxy-DL-kynurenine (3-OHK), which looks yellow to humans but reflects both UV- and long-wavelength light, whereas butterflies in related genera have chemically unknown yellow pigments mostly lacking UV reflectance. Modeling of these color signals reveals that the two UV photoreceptors of Heliconius are better suited to separating 3-OHK from non-3-OHK spectra compared with the photoreceptors of related genera or birds. The co-occurrence of potentially enhanced UV vision and a UV-reflecting yellow wing pigment could allow unpalatable Heliconius private intraspecific communication in the presence of mimics. Our results are the best available evidence for the correlated evolution of a color signal and color vision. They also suggest that predator visual systems are error prone in the context of mimicry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seth M Bybee
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, USA
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40
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Abstract
The monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus, is well known for its intimate association with milkweed plants and its incredible multi-generational trans-continental migrations. However, little is known about monarch butterflies' color perception or learning ability, despite the importance of visual information to butterfly behavior in the contexts of nectar foraging, host-plant location and mate recognition. We used both theoretical and experimental approaches to address basic questions about monarch color vision and learning ability. Color space modeling based on the three known spectral classes of photoreceptors present in the eye suggests that monarchs should not be able to discriminate between long wavelength colors without making use of a dark orange lateral filtering pigment distributed heterogeneously in the eye. In the context of nectar foraging, monarchs show strong innate preferences, rapidly learn to associate colors with sugar rewards and learn non-innately preferred colors as quickly and proficiently as they do innately preferred colors. Butterflies also demonstrate asymmetric confusion between specific pairs of colors, which is likely a function of stimulus brightness. Monarchs readily learn to associate a second color with reward, and in general, learning parameters do not vary with temporal sequence of training. In addition, monarchs have true color vision; that is, they can discriminate colors on the basis of wavelength, independent of intensity. Finally, behavioral trials confirm that monarchs do make use of lateral filtering pigments to enhance long-wavelength discrimination. Our results demonstrate that monarchs are proficient and flexible color learners; these capabilities should allow them to respond rapidly to changing nectar availabilities as they travel over migratory routes, across both space and time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Douglas Blackiston
- Department of Biology, 406 Reiss Bldg., Georgetown University, 37th & O Sts. NW, Washington, DC 20057 USA
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41
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Abstract
The adult compound eyes of passion-vine butterflies in the genus Heliconius contain one more UV opsin than other butterflies. Together with an 11-cis-3-hydroxyretinal chromophore, their four opsin genes UVRh1, UVRh2, BRh, and LWRh produce four rhodopsins that are UV-, blue-, or long wavelength absorbing. One of the Heliconius UV opsin genes, UVRh2, was found to have evolved under positive selection following recent gene duplication, using the branch-site test of selection. Using a more conservative test, the small-sample method, we confirm our prior finding of positive selection of UVRh2 and provide new statistical evidence of episodic evolution, that is, positive selection followed by purifying selection. We also newly note that one of the positively selected amino acid sites contains substitutions with known spectral tuning effects in avian ultraviolet- and violet-sensitive visual pigments. As this is one of a handful of described examples of positive selection of any specific gene in any butterfly where functional variation between copies has been characterized, we were interested in examining the molecular and physiological context of this adaptive event by examining the UV opsin genes in contrast to the other visual pigment genes. We cloned BRh and LWRh from 13 heliconiine species and UVRh1 and UVRh2 from Heliconius elevatus. In parallel, we performed in vivo epi-microspectrophotometric experiments to estimate the wavelength of peak absorbance, λ(max), of several rhodopsins in seven heliconiine species. In contrast to UVRh2, we found both physiological and statistical evidence consistent with purifying selection on UVRh1, BRh, and LWRh along the branch leading to the common ancestor of Heliconius. These results underscore the utility of combining molecular and physiological experiments in a comparative context for strengthening evidence for adaptive evolution at the molecular level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Furong Yuan
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, USA
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42
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Bradley TJ, Briscoe AD, Brady SG, Contreras HL, Danforth BN, Dudley R, Grimaldi D, Harrison JF, Kaiser JA, Merlin C, Reppert SM, Vandenbrooks JM, Yanoviak SP. Episodes in insect evolution. Integr Comp Biol 2009; 49:590-606. [PMID: 21665843 DOI: 10.1093/icb/icp043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
This article derives from a society-wide symposium organized by Timothy Bradley and Adriana Briscoe and presented at the 2009 annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in Boston, Massachusetts. David Grimaldi provided the opening presentation in which he outlined the major evolutionary events in the formation and subsequent diversification of the insect clade. This presentation was followed by speakers who detailed the evolutionary history of specific physiological and/or behavioral traits that have caused insects to be both ecologically successful and fascinating as subjects for biological study. These include a review of the evolutionary history of the insects, the origins of flight, osmoregulation, the evolution of tracheal systems, the evolution of color vision, circadian clocks, and the evolution of eusociality. These topics, as covered by the speakers, provide an overview of the pattern and timing of evolutionary diversification and specialization in the group of animals we know as insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy J Bradley
- *Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697-2525, USA;Department of Entomology and Laboratories of Analytical Biology, National Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012, USA;Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA;Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA;Division of Invertebrate Zoology, Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, USA;Section of Organismal, Integrative and Systems Biology, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe AZ 85287-4501, USA;Department of Basic Sciences, Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ 85308, USA;Department of Neurobiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA;Department of Biology, University of Arkansas Little Rock, Little Rock, AR 72204, USA
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Pohl N, Sison-Mangus MP, Yee EN, Liswi SW, Briscoe AD. Impact of duplicate gene copies on phylogenetic analysis and divergence time estimates in butterflies. BMC Evol Biol 2009; 9:99. [PMID: 19439087 PMCID: PMC2689175 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-9-99] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2008] [Accepted: 05/13/2009] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The increase in availability of genomic sequences for a wide range of organisms has revealed gene duplication to be a relatively common event. Encounters with duplicate gene copies have consequently become almost inevitable in the context of collecting gene sequences for inferring species trees. Here we examine the effect of incorporating duplicate gene copies evolving at different rates on tree reconstruction and time estimation of recent and deep divergences in butterflies. Results Sequences from ultraviolet-sensitive (UVRh), blue-sensitive (BRh), and long-wavelength sensitive (LWRh) opsins,EF-1α and COI were obtained from 27 taxa representing the five major butterfly families (5535 bp total). Both BRh and LWRh are present in multiple copies in some butterfly lineages and the different copies evolve at different rates. Regardless of the phylogenetic reconstruction method used, we found that analyses of combined data sets using either slower or faster evolving copies of duplicate genes resulted in a single topology in agreement with our current understanding of butterfly family relationships based on morphology and molecules. Interestingly, individual analyses of BRh and LWRh sequences also recovered these family-level relationships. Two different relaxed clock methods resulted in similar divergence time estimates at the shallower nodes in the tree, regardless of whether faster or slower evolving copies were used, with larger discrepancies observed at deeper nodes in the phylogeny. The time of divergence between the monarch butterfly Danaus plexippus and the queen D. gilippus (15.3–35.6 Mya) was found to be much older than the time of divergence between monarch co-mimic Limenitis archippus and red-spotted purple L. arthemis (4.7–13.6 Mya), and overlapping with the time of divergence of the co-mimetic passionflower butterflies Heliconius erato and H. melpomene (13.5–26.1 Mya). Our family-level results are congruent with recent estimates found in the literature and indicate an age of 84–113 million years for the divergence of all butterfly families. Conclusion These results are consistent with diversification of the butterfly families following the radiation of angiosperms and suggest that some classes of opsin genes may be usefully employed for both phylogenetic reconstruction and divergence time estimation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nélida Pohl
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
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44
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Abstract
The striking color patterns of butterflies and birds have long interested biologists. But how these animals see color is less well understood. Opsins are the protein components of the visual pigments of the eye. Color vision has evolved in butterflies through opsin gene duplications, through positive selection at individual opsin loci, and by the use of filtering pigments. By contrast, birds have retained the same opsin complement present in early-jawed vertebrates, and their visual system has diversified primarily through tuning of the short-wavelength-sensitive photoreceptors, rather than by opsin duplication or the use of filtering elements. Butterflies and birds have evolved photoreceptors that might use some of the same amino acid sites for generating similar spectral phenotypes across approximately 540 million years of evolution, when rhabdomeric and ciliary-type opsins radiated during the early Cambrian period. Considering the similarities between the two taxa, it is surprising that the eyes of birds are not more diverse. Additional taxonomic sampling of birds may help clarify this mystery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca D Frentiu
- School of Integrative Biology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia
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45
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Abstract
The eyes of butterflies are remarkable, because they are nearly as diverse as the colors of wings. Much of eye diversity can be traced to alterations in the number, spectral properties and spatial distribution of the visual pigments. Visual pigments are light-sensitive molecules composed of an opsin protein and a chromophore. Most butterflies have eyes that contain visual pigments with a wavelength of peak absorbance, lambda(max), in the ultraviolet (UV, 300-400 nm), blue (B, 400-500 nm) and long wavelength (LW, 500-600 nm) part of the visible light spectrum, respectively, encoded by distinct UV, B and LW opsin genes. In the compound eye of butterflies, each individual ommatidium is composed of nine photoreceptor cells (R1-9) that generally express only one opsin mRNA per cell, although in some butterfly eyes there are ommatidial subtypes in which two opsins are co-expressed in the same photoreceptor cell. Based on a phylogenetic analysis of opsin cDNAs from the five butterfly families, Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae, Lycaenidae and Riodinidae, and comparative analysis of opsin gene expression patterns from four of the five families, I propose a model for the patterning of the ancestral butterfly eye that is most closely aligned with the nymphalid eye. The R1 and R2 cells of the main retina expressed UV-UV-, UV-B- or B-B-absorbing visual pigments while the R3-9 cells expressed a LW-absorbing visual pigment. Visual systems of existing butterflies then underwent an adaptive expansion based on lineage-specific B and LW opsin gene multiplications and on alterations in the spatial expression of opsins within the eye. Understanding the molecular sophistication of butterfly eye complexity is a challenge that, if met, has broad biological implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adriana D Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
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Sison-Mangus MP, Briscoe AD, Zaccardi G, Knüttel H, Kelber A. The lycaenid butterfly Polyommatus icarus uses a duplicated blue opsin to see green. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008; 211:361-9. [PMID: 18203991 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.012617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The functional significance of gene duplication is rarely addressed at the level of animal behavior. Butterflies are excellent models in this regard because they can be trained and the use of their opsin-based visual pigments in color vision can be assessed. In the present study, we demonstrate that the lycaenid Polyommatus icarus uses its duplicate blue (B2) opsin, BRh2, in conjunction with its long-wavelength (LW) opsin, LWRh, to see color in the green part of the light spectrum extending up to 560 nm. This is in contrast to butterflies in the genus Papilio, which use duplicate LW opsins to discriminate colors in the long-wavelength range. We also found that P. icarus has a heterogeneously expressed red filtering pigment and red-reflecting ommatidia in the ventral eye region. In behavioural tests, the butterflies could not discriminate colors in the red range (570-640 nm). This finding is significant because we have previously found that the nymphalid butterfly Heliconius erato has filter-pigment mediated color vision in the long wavelength range. Our results suggest that lateral filtering pigments may not always influence color vision in insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marilou P Sison-Mangus
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
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Frentiu FD, Bernard GD, Sison-Mangus MP, Brower AVZ, Briscoe AD. Gene duplication is an evolutionary mechanism for expanding spectral diversity in the long-wavelength photopigments of butterflies. Mol Biol Evol 2007; 24:2016-28. [PMID: 17609538 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msm132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Butterfly long-wavelength (L) photopigments are interesting for comparative studies of adaptive evolution because of the tremendous phenotypic variation that exists in their wavelength of peak absorbance (lambda(max) value). Here we present a comprehensive survey of L photopigment variation by measuring lambda(max) in 12 nymphalid and 1 riodinid species using epi-microspectrophotometry. Together with previous data, we find that L photopigment lambda(max) varies from 510-565 nm in 22 nymphalids, with an even broader 505- to 600-nm range in riodinids. We then surveyed the L opsin genes for which lambda(max) values are available as well as from related taxa and found 2 instances of L opsin gene duplication within nymphalids, in Hermeuptychia hermes and Amathusia phidippus, and 1 instance within riodinids, in the metalmark butterfly Apodemia mormo. Using maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood ancestral state reconstructions to map the evolution of spectral shifts within the L photopigments of nymphalids, we estimate the ancestral pigment had a lambda(max) = 540 nm +/- 10 nm standard error and that blueshifts in wavelength have occurred at least 4 times within the family. We used ancestral state reconstructions to investigate the importance of several amino acid substitutions (Ile17Met, Ala64Ser, Asn70Ser, and Ser137Ala) previously shown to have evolved under positive selection that are correlated with blue spectral shifts. These reconstructions suggest that the Ala64Ser substitution has indeed occurred along the newly identified blueshifted L photopigment lineages. Substitutions at the other 3 sites may also be involved in the functional diversification of L photopigments. Our data strongly suggest that there are limits to the evolution of L photopigment spectral shifts among species with only one L opsin gene and that opsin gene duplication broadens the potential range of lambda(max) values.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca D Frentiu
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, USA
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Frentiu FD, Bernard GD, Cuevas CI, Sison-Mangus MP, Prudic KL, Briscoe AD. Adaptive evolution of color vision as seen through the eyes of butterflies. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2007; 104 Suppl 1:8634-40. [PMID: 17494749 PMCID: PMC1876440 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0701447104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Butterflies and primates are interesting for comparative color vision studies, because both have evolved middle- (M) and long-wavelength- (L) sensitive photopigments with overlapping absorbance spectrum maxima (lambda(max) values). Although positive selection is important for the maintenance of spectral variation within the primate pigments, it remains an open question whether it contributes similarly to the diversification of butterfly pigments. To examine this issue, we performed epimicrospectrophotometry on the eyes of five Limenitis butterfly species and found a 31-nm range of variation in the lambda(max) values of the L-sensitive photopigments (514-545 nm). We cloned partial Limenitis L opsin gene sequences and found a significant excess of replacement substitutions relative to polymorphisms among species. Mapping of these L photopigment lambda(max) values onto a phylogeny revealed two instances within Lepidoptera of convergently evolved L photopigment lineages whose lambda(max) values were blue-shifted. A codon-based maximum-likelihood analysis indicated that, associated with the two blue spectral shifts, four amino acid sites (Ile17Met, Ala64Ser, Asn70Ser, and Ser137Ala) have evolved substitutions in parallel and exhibit significant d(N)/d(S) >1. Homology modeling of the full-length Limenitis arthemis astyanax L opsin placed all four substitutions within the chromophore-binding pocket. Strikingly, the Ser137Ala substitution is in the same position as a site that in primates is responsible for a 5- to 7-nm blue spectral shift. Our data show that some of the same amino acid sites are under positive selection in the photopigments of both butterflies and primates, spanning an evolutionary distance >500 million years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca D. Frentiu
- *Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology Group, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697
| | - Gary D. Bernard
- Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195; and
| | - Cristina I. Cuevas
- *Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology Group, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697
| | - Marilou P. Sison-Mangus
- *Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology Group, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697
| | - Kathleen L. Prudic
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721
| | - Adriana D. Briscoe
- *Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology Group, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697
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Yuan Q, Metterville D, Briscoe AD, Reppert SM. Insect Cryptochromes: Gene Duplication and Loss Define Diverse Ways to Construct Insect Circadian Clocks. Mol Biol Evol 2007; 24:948-55. [PMID: 17244599 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msm011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 255] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Cryptochrome (CRY) proteins are components of the central circadian clockwork of metazoans. Phylogenetic analyses show at least 2 rounds of gene duplication at the base of the metazoan radiation, as well as several losses, gave rise to 2 cryptochrome (cry) gene families in insects, a Drosophila-like cry1 gene family and a vertebrate-like cry2 family. Previous studies have shown that insect CRY1 is photosensitive, whereas photo-insensitive CRY2 functions to potently inhibit clock-relevant CLOCK:CYCLE-mediated transcription. Here, we extended the transcriptional repressive function of insect CRY2 to 2 orders--Hymenoptera (the honeybee Apis mellifera and the bumblebee Bombus impatiens) and Coleoptera (the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum). Importantly, the bee and beetle CRY2 proteins are not light sensitive in culture, in either degradation of protein levels or inhibitory transcriptional response, suggesting novel light input pathways into their circadian clocks as Apis and Tribolium do not have CRY1. By mapping the functional data onto a cryptochrome/6-4 photolyase gene tree, we find that the transcriptional repressive function of insect CRY2 descended from a light-sensitive photolyase-like ancestral gene, probably lacking the ability to repress CLOCK:CYCLE-mediated transcription. These data provide an evolutionary context for proposing novel circadian clock mechanisms in insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quan Yuan
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, USA
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Sison-Mangus MP, Bernard GD, Lampel J, Briscoe AD. Beauty in the eye of the beholder: the two blue opsins of lycaenid butterflies and the opsin gene-driven evolution of sexually dimorphic eyes. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2006; 209:3079-90. [PMID: 16888057 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.02360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Although previous investigations have shown that wing coloration is an important component of social signaling in butterflies, the contribution of opsin evolution to sexual wing color dichromatism and interspecific divergence remains largely unexplored. Here we report that the butterfly Lycaena rubidus has evolved sexually dimorphic eyes due to changes in the regulation of opsin expression patterns to match the contrasting life histories of males and females. The L. rubidus eye contains four visual pigments with peak sensitivities in the ultraviolet (UV; lambdamax=360 nm), blue (B; lambdamax=437 nm and 500 nm, respectively) and long (LW; lambdamax=568 nm) wavelength range. By combining in situ hybridization of cloned opsin-encoding cDNAs with epi-microspectrophotometry, we found that all four opsin mRNAs and visual pigments are expressed in the eyes in a sex-specific manner. The male dorsal eye, which contains only UV and B (lambdamax=437 nm) visual pigments, indeed expresses two short wavelength opsin mRNAs, UVRh and BRh1. The female dorsal eye, which also has the UV and B (lambdamax=437 nm) visual pigments, also contains the LW visual pigment, and likewise expresses UVRh, BRh1 and LWRh mRNAs. Unexpectedly, in the female dorsal eye, we also found BRh1 co-expressed with LWRh in the R3-8 photoreceptor cells. The ventral eye of both sexes, on the other hand, contains all four visual pigments and expresses all four opsin mRNAs in a non-overlapping fashion. Surprisingly, we found that the 500 nm visual pigment is encoded by a duplicate blue opsin gene, BRh2. Further, using molecular phylogenetic methods we trace this novel blue opsin gene to a duplication event at the base of the Polyommatine+Thecline+Lycaenine radiation. The blue opsin gene duplication may help explain the blueness of blue lycaenid butterflies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marilou P Sison-Mangus
- Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology Group, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 321 Steinhaus Hall, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
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