Mosaic Evolution of Molecular Pathways for Sex Pheromone Communication in a Butterfly.

ABSTRACT: Unraveling the origin of molecular pathways underlying the evolution of adaptive traits is essential for understanding how new lineages emerge, including the relative contribution of conserved ancestral traits and newly evolved derived traits. Here, we investigated the evolutionary divergence of sex pheromone communication from moths (mostly nocturnal) to butterflies (mostly diurnal) that occurred ~119 million years ago. In moths, it is the females that typically emit pheromones to attract male mates, but in butterflies males emit pheromones that are used by females for mate choice. The molecular bases of sex pheromone communication are well understood in moths, but they have remained relatively unexplored in butterflies. We used a combination of transcriptomics, real time qPCR, and phylog

SUBMITTER: Nieberding CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9407440 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature