Genome-wide macroevolutionary signatures of key innovations in butterflies colonizing new host plants.

ABSTRACT: The mega-diversity of herbivorous insects is attributed to their co-evolutionary associations with plants. Despite abundant studies on insect-plant interactions, we do not know whether host-plant shifts have impacted both genomic adaptation and species diversification over geological times. We show that the antagonistic insect-plant interaction between swallowtail butterflies and the highly toxic birthworts began 55 million years ago in Beringia, followed by several major ancient host-plant shifts. This evolutionary framework provides a valuable opportunity for repeated tests of genomic signatures of macroevolutionary changes and estimation of diversification rates across their phylogeny. We find that host-plant shifts in butterflies are associated with both genome-wide adaptive molecular

SUBMITTER: Allio R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7806994 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature