Sympatric Pieris butterfly species exhibit a high conservation of chemoreceptors.

ABSTRACT: Sensory processes have often been argued to play a central role in the selection of ecological niches and in the formation of new species. Butterflies are among the best studied animal groups with regards to their evolutionary and behavioral ecology and thereby offer an attractive system to investigate the role of chemosensory genes in sympatric speciation. We focus on two Pieris butterflies with overlapping host-plant ranges: P. brassicae and P. rapae. Host-plant choice in lepidopterans is largely based on their olfactory and gustatory senses. Although the chemosensory responses of the two species have been well characterized at the behavioral and physiological levels, little is known about their chemoreceptor genes. Here, we compared the chemosensory genes of P. b

SUBMITTER: Wang Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10210156 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature