Testing hypotheses of a coevolutionary key innovation reveals a complex suite of traits involved in defusing the mustard oil bomb.

ABSTRACT: Coevolutionary interactions are responsible for much of the Earth's biodiversity, with key innovations driving speciation bursts on both sides of the interaction. One persistent question is whether macroevolutionary traits identified as key innovations accurately predict functional performance and selection dynamics within species, as this necessitates characterizing their function, investigating their fitness consequences, and exploring the selection dynamics acting upon them. Here, we used CRISPR-Cas9 mediating nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) in the butterfly species Pieris brassicae to knock out and directly assess the function and fitness impacts of nitrile specifier protein (NSP) and major allergen (MA). These are two closely related genes that facilitate glucosi

SUBMITTER: Okamura Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9907077 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature