Partial complementarity of the mimetic yellow bar phenotype in Heliconius butterflies.

ABSTRACT: Heliconius butterflies are an excellent system for understanding the genetic basis of phenotypic change. Here we document surprising diversity in the genetic control of a common phenotype. Two disjunct H. erato populations have each recruited the Cr and/or Sd loci that control similar yellow hindwing patterns, but the alleles involved partially complement one another indicating either multiple origins for the patterning alleles or developmental drift in genetic control of similar patterns. We show that in these H. erato populations cr and sd are epistatically interacting and that the parental origin of alleles can explain phenotypes of backcross individuals. In contrast, mimetic H. melpomene populations with identical phenotypes (H. m. rosina and H. m. amaryllis) do not show genetic comple

SUBMITTER: Maroja LS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3485321 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature