Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-1-2021
Department
Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract
Butterfly eyespots are beautiful novel traits with an unknown developmental origin. Here we show that eyespots likely originated via co-option of the antennal gene-regulatory network (GRN) to novel locations on the wing. Using comparative transcriptome analysis, we show that eyespots cluster with antennae relative to multiple other tissues. Furthermore, three genes essential for eyespot development (Distal-less (Dll), spalt (sal), and Antennapedia (Antp)) share similar regulatory connections as those observed in the antennal GRN. CRISPR knockout of cis-regulatory elements (CREs) for Dll and sal led to the loss of eyespots and antennae, and also legs and wings, demonstrating that these CREs are highly pleiotropic. We conclude that eyespots likely re-used the ancient antennal GRN, a network previously implicated also in the development of legs and wings.
Publication Title
bioRxiv
Recommended Citation
Murugesan, S. N.,
Connahs, H.,
Matsuoka, Y.,
das Gupta, M.,
Huq, M.,
Werner, T.,
&
et. al.
(2021).
Butterfly eyespots evolved via co-option of the antennal gene-regulatory network.
bioRxiv.
http://doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.01.429915
Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p/14962
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Version
Preprint
Publisher's Statement
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY 4.0 International license. Publisher’s version of record: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.01.429915