There are brightly colored bands on the top of the butterfly's wings. The undersides of this butterfly are shades of dull brown that look like a dead leaf, camouflaging the butterflies from their prey. In research published in the journal Cell on August 1, scientists discover which genes are responsible for leaf mimicry in butterflies and discuss what it means for our understanding of their evolution.
The simple structure of butterfly wings is responsible for some very complex functions, such as mate preference and predator avoidance, according to a butterfly researcher. Butterflies are the ideal system to address multiple evolutionary questions because they are simple and complex.
To understand the evolution and genetics of the oak leaf butterfly, the team collected samples from 36 different genera. The butterfly's genome was homed in on a single gene that appeared to be responsible for the different leaf patterns.
The butterfly's population is affected by evolutionary pressures on this genes. Different species may have different leaf wing frequencies. Butterflies will benefit from having different frequencies of wing phenotypes because of the proliferation of specific plants in certain habitats.
The eastern Himalayas was the focus of the team's attention. They were able to look at the evolution on a smaller scale because they found so much variation. At a macroevolutionary level, we tend to focus on the diversity of organisms. We don't usually have cases that show how species diversity and genetic diversity came about.
In the future, Zhang and her team will continue to look at how wing patterns and colors vary in different regions. She says that they would like to understand how the genes facilitate the wing patterns.
More information: Wei Zhang, The evolution and diversification of oakleaf butterflies, Cell (2022). DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2022.06.042. www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(22)00794-2 Journal information: Cell
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