Brien, M., Enciso Romero, J. orcid.org/0000-0002-4143-3705, Parnell, A. orcid.org/0000-0001-8606-8644 et al. (7 more authors) (2018) Phenotypic variation in Heliconius erato crosses shows iridescent structural colour is sex-linked and controlled by multiple genes. Interface Focus, 9. 20180047. ISSN 2042-8898
Abstract
Bright, highly reflective iridescent colours can be seen across nature and are produced by the scattering of light from nanostructures. Heliconius butterflies have been widely studied for their diversity and mimicry of wing colour patterns. Despite iridescence evolving multiple times in this genus, little is known about the genetic basis of the colour and the development of the structures which produce it. Heliconius erato can be found across Central and South America, but only races found in Western Ecuador and Colombia have developed blue iridescent colour. Here, we use crosses between iridescent and non-iridescent races of H. erato to study phenotypic variation in the resulting F2 generation. Using measurements of blue colour from photographs, we find that iridescent structural colour is a quantitative trait controlled by multiple genes, with strong evidence for loci on the Z sex chromosome. Iridescence is not linked to the Mendelian colour pattern locus that also segregates in these crosses (controlled by the gene cortex). Small angle X-ray scattering data shows that spacing between longitudinal ridges on the scales, which affects the intensity of the blue reflectance, also varies quantitatively in F2 crosses.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2018 The Royal Society. This is an author-produced version of a paper accepted for publication in Interface Focus. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy |
Keywords: | Structural colour; Heliconius; butterflies; iridescence; evolution; quantitative genetics |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > School of Biosciences (Sheffield) > Department of Animal and Plant Sciences (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > Department of Physics and Astronomy (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number NATURAL ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH COUNCIL NE/K008498/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 19 Nov 2018 11:04 |
Last Modified: | 06 Mar 2019 12:42 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1098/rsfs.2018.0047 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | The Royal Society |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1098/rsfs.2018.0047 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:138181 |