Project description:An immobile pupal phase in butterfly metamorphosis is central for the production of an airborne adult from the earlier caterpillar feeding stage. Extensive body plan re-organization occurs within the pupal case that is entirely dependent upon nutrients accumulated during caterpillar growth, and sensitive to external environmental conditions. Here, we use DNA and RNA sequencing of a laboratory butterfly population to produce a time course dataset describing changes in DNA methylation and in the transcriptome during progression from the 5th instar caterpillar larval stage through to the latest stage of pupation when the mature butterfly is about to eclose from the pupal case.
Project description:An immobile pupal phase in butterfly metamorphosis is central for the production of an airborne adult from the earlier caterpillar feeding stage. Extensive body plan re-organization occurs within the pupal case that is entirely dependent upon nutrients accumulated during caterpillar growth, and sensitive to external environmental conditions. Here, we use DNA and RNA sequencing of a laboratory butterfly population to produce a time course dataset describing changes in DNA methylation and in the transcriptome during progression from the 5th instar caterpillar larval stage through to the latest stage of pupation when the mature butterfly is about to eclose from the pupal case.
Project description:Butterfly wing patterns are an important model for studying the genetic basis of morphological evolution. Here we used RNA-seq expression profiling in the butterfly Vanessa cardui to characterize the transcriptional basis of wing pigmentation. This approach identified numerous candidate genes including known and suspected components of the insect melanin and ommochrome biosynthetic pathways.
2017-05-04 | GSE78119 | GEO
Project description:Alfalfa common garden butterfly rearing experiment genomic data, part 2
Project description:Changes in sensory gene expression may underly seasonal changes in behavior. To accompany other research on seasonal changes in coloration and behavior in the seasonally plastic common buckeye butterfly Junonia coenia, we examined how gene expression in eyes differs between wild butterflies caught in summer and fall. We collected animals in 2019, 2020, and 2021 in the central United States. The samples consisted of three males and three females from each season: Summer (June/July) and Fall (late September/October) that had wing colors appropriate for previously described seasonal morphs (i.e. light in summer and dark in fall). We dissected eye tissue from butterfly heads and purified RNA prior to sending samples to Novogene for cDNA Library prep and RNA-Sequencing. We used DESeq2 for subsequent analysis. We found gene expression correlated to sex, season, and interactions between sex and season. Eye tissues from dark fall animals and light summer animals exhibit different patterns of expression in many genes including visual system development genes, pigmentation genes, and clock genes. This change in gene expression accompanies changes in basking behavior and wing color and indicates that J. coenia undergoes changes to its visual system depending on the seasonal environment.
Project description:Background: We studied the chromatin accessibility landscsape in wings during butterfly metamorphosis, and investigate which transcription factors might be driving changes in accessibility Methods: We sequencing the Junonia coenia genome, and we studied chromatin accessibility using ATAC seq in multiple stages of wing development in both forewings and hindwings. For sites showing a large change in accessibility, we investigate which motifs are enriched, and correlate this with changes in gene expression of associated transcription factors. We confirm promising candidates with ChIP-seq Results: We find a highly dynamic landscape, with multiple peaks showing a double increase in accessibility throughout development. We show that transcription factor spineless, but not ecdysone receptor, is highly predictive of opening sites Conclusions: This work provides a characterization of the chromatin dynamics of insect wing metamorphosis, identifies novel candidate chromatin remodeling factors in insects, and provides the first genome assembly of the model butterfly Junonia coenia, with gene and cis-regulatory element annotations