WntA expression and wing transcriptomics illuminate the evolution of stripe patterns in skipper butterflies.

ABSTRACT: Skippers (Hesperiidae) form a distinct lineage of butterflies where the developmental mechanisms of color patterning have seldom been studied. Skipper wing patterns often consist of median stripes, and studies from the mid-twentieth century suggested these elements are homologous to the central symmetry system (CSS) found in nymphalid butterflies. Here we examined the expression of the signaling ligand gene WntA, known to mark the presumptive CSS patterns in nymphalids, in the silver-spotted skipper Epargyreus clarus, and found support for the homology of the CSS across 95 MY of evolutionary divergence. We generated an annotated genome for E. clarus and used RNAseq to profile gene expression along the wing proximo-distal (P-D) axis. These data suggest that the transcription factor genes lo

SUBMITTER: Alqassar JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12690525 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature