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- Title
A genetic mechanism for female-limited Batesian mimicry in Papilio butterfly.
- Authors
Nishikawa, Hideki; Iijima, Takuro; Yamaguchi, Junichi; Fujiwara, Haruhiko; Kajitani, Rei; Morimoto, Hiroya; Itoh, Takehiko; Ando, Toshiya; Suzuki, Yutaka; Sugano, Sumio; Fujiyama, Asao; Kosugi, Shunichi; Hirakawa, Hideki; Tabata, Satoshi; Ozaki, Katsuhisa; Ihara, Kunio; Obara, Madoka; Hori, Hiroshi
- Abstract
In Batesian mimicry, animals avoid predation by resembling distasteful models. In the swallowtail butterfly Papilio polytes, only mimetic-form females resemble the unpalatable butterfly Pachliopta aristolochiae. A recent report showed that a single gene, doublesex (dsx), controls this mimicry; however, the detailed molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Here we determined two whole-genome sequences of P. polytes and a related species, Papilio xuthus, identifying a single ∼130-kb autosomal inversion, including dsx, between mimetic (H-type) and non-mimetic (h-type) chromosomes in P. polytes. This inversion is associated with the mimicry-related locus H, as identified by linkage mapping. Knockdown experiments demonstrated that female-specific dsx isoforms expressed from the inverted H allele (dsx(H)) induce mimetic coloration patterns and simultaneously repress non-mimetic patterns. In contrast, dsx(h) does not alter mimetic patterns. We propose that dsx(H) switches the coloration of predetermined wing patterns and that female-limited polymorphism is tightly maintained by chromosomal inversion.
- Subjects
MIMICRY (Biology); PAPILIO; BUTTERFLY behavior; LINKAGE (Genetics); DOUBLESEX gene; CHROMOSOME inversions; COLOR of insects; INSECT wings; INSECTS
- Publication
Nature Genetics, 2015, Vol 47, Issue 4, p405
- ISSN
1061-4036
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/ng.3241