wingless and aristaless2 define a developmental ground plan for moth and butterfly wing pattern evolution

摘要: Butterfly wing patterns have long been a favorite system for studying the evolutionary radiation of complex morphologies. One key characteristics is that are based on highly conserved ground plan pattern homologies. In fact, evolution lepidopteran proposed to occurred through repeated gain, loss, and modification only handful serially elements. this study, we examine development stripe We show expression developmental morphogen wingless (wg )i s associated with early determination major basal (B), discal (DI DII), marginal (EI) in broad sampling Lepidoptera, suggesting homology these elements across moths butterflies. describe first time novel Lepidoptera-specific homeobox gene, aristaless2 (al2), which precedes wg during DII patterns. al2 was derived from tandem duplication aristaless whereupon it underwent rapid coding cis-regulatory divergence relative its more paralog aristaless1 (al1), retained an ancestral pattern. The domain evolutionarily preceded appearance multiple lineages, leading us speculate represented preexisting positional information may facilitated via drive mechanism. contrast butterfly eyespot patterns, often cited as example co-option genes, study provides where origin color element gene.