標題：The Functional Basis of Wing Patterning in Heliconius Butterflies: The Molecules Behind Mimicry
摘要
Wing-pattern mimicry in butterflies has provided an important example of adaptation since Charles Darwin and Alfred Russell Wallace proposed evolution by natural selection .150 years ago. The neotropical butterfly genus Heliconius played a central role in the development of mimicry theory and has since been studied extensively in the context of ecology and population biology, behavior, and mimicry genetics. Heliconius species are notable for their diverse color patterns, and previous crossing experiments revealed that much of this variation is controlled by a small number of large-effect, Mendelian switch loci. Recent comparative analyses have shown that the same switch loci control wing-pattern diversity throughout the genus, and a number of these have now been positionally cloned. Using a combination of comparative genetic mapping, association tests, and gene expression analyses, variation in red wing patterning throughout Heliconius has been traced back to the action of the transcription factor optix. Similarly, the signaling ligand WntA has been shown to control variation in melanin patterning across Heliconius and other butterflies. Our understanding of the molecular basis of Heliconius mimicry is now providing important insights into a variety of additional evolutionary phenomena, including the origin of supergenes, the interplay between constraint and evolvability, the genetic basis of convergence, the potential for introgression to facilitate adaptation, the mechanisms of hybrid speciation in animals, and the process of ecological speciation.
這個文章整理從Bates發現擬態這個現象以來，從外在的生物學到近年利用基因體學與遺傳學的方法，找出控制某些擬態斑紋的基因，以及這一切都來自其中一個超基因 (supergene)的一個綜合回顧，近年來無論從系統發生學的角度，族群遺傳學的角度，基因體內部的變化，或是基因在族群間的入侵與移動等，都在這個回顧中做了整理。
對於近年毒蝶與擬態的發展有興趣的朋友可以參考。
0 comments