A long noncoding RNA at the cortex locus controls adaptive coloration in butterflies.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
; 121(36): e2403326121, 2024 Sep 03.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39213180
ABSTRACT
Evolutionary variation in the wing pigmentation of butterflies and moths offers striking examples of adaptation by crypsis and mimicry. The cortex locus has been independently mapped as the locus controlling color polymorphisms in 15 lepidopteran species, suggesting that it acts as a genomic hotspot for the diversification of wing patterns, but functional validation through protein-coding knockouts has proven difficult to obtain. Our study unveils the role of a long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) which we name ivory, transcribed from the cortex locus, in modulating color patterning in butterflies. Strikingly, ivory expression prefigures most melanic patterns during pupal development, suggesting an early developmental role in specifying scale identity. To test this, we generated CRISPR mosaic knock-outs in five nymphalid butterfly species and show that ivory mutagenesis yields transformations of dark pigmented scales into white or light-colored scales. Genotyping of Vanessa cardui germline mutants associates these phenotypes to small on-target deletions at the conserved first exon of ivory. In contrast, cortex germline mutant butterflies with confirmed null alleles lack any wing phenotype and exclude a color patterning role for this adjacent gene. Overall, these results show that a lncRNA gene acts as a master switch of color pattern specification and played key roles in the adaptive diversification of wing patterns in butterflies.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Asas de Animais
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Borboletas
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Pigmentação
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RNA Longo não Codificante
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
/
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A
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Proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the United States of America
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de publicação:
Estados Unidos