Genome assembly of a nocturnal butterfly (Macrosoma leucophasiata) reveals convergent adaptation of visual genes.

ABSTRACT: Nearly all animals exhibit a preferred period of daily activity (diel-niche), strongly influenced by the light environment. Vision is a sensory system that is strongly adapted to light, and evolutionary transitions to novel light environments can impose strong constraints on eye evolution, color, and motion vision. While the genetic and neural basis of visual adaptation are well-studied in a few model systems, our understanding across the tree of life remains incomplete. Butterflies and moths are an ideal system to investigate the association between gene evolution and diel-niche transitions. While most butterflies are day-flying, hedylid butterflies are unique in being primarily nocturnal, representing an important evolutionary shift from diurnality to nocturnality. We sequenced the first

SUBMITTER: Singh RP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11659621 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature