The Genomic Basis of Color Pattern Polymorphism in the Harlequin Ladybird.

ABSTRACT: Many animal species comprise discrete phenotypic forms. A common example in natural populations of insects is the occurrence of different color patterns, which has motivated a rich body of ecological and genetic research [1-6]. The occurrence of dark, i.e., melanic, forms displaying discrete color patterns is found across multiple taxa, but the underlying genomic basis remains poorly characterized. In numerous ladybird species (Coccinellidae), the spatial arrangement of black and red patches on adult elytra varies wildly within species, forming strikingly different complex color patterns [7, 8]. In the harlequin ladybird, Harmonia axyridis, more than 200 distinct color forms have been described, which classic genetic studies suggest result from allelic variation at a single, unknown, locus

SUBMITTER: Gautier M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6203698 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature