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Chakraborty M, Lara AG, Dang A, McCulloch KJ, Rainbow D, Carter D, Ngo LT, Solares E, Said I, Corbett-Detig RB, Gilbert LE, Emerson JJ, Briscoe AD. Sex-linked gene traffic underlies the acquisition of sexually dimorphic UV color vision in Heliconius butterflies. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2301411120. [PMID: 37552755 PMCID: PMC10438391 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2301411120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The acquisition of novel sexually dimorphic traits poses an evolutionary puzzle: How do new traits arise and become sex-limited? Recently acquired color vision, sexually dimorphic in animals like primates and butterflies, presents a compelling model for understanding how traits become sex-biased. For example, some Heliconius butterflies uniquely possess UV (ultraviolet) color vision, which correlates with the expression of two differentially tuned UV-sensitive rhodopsins, UVRh1 and UVRh2. To discover how such traits become sexually dimorphic, we studied Heliconius charithonia, which exhibits female-specific UVRh1 expression. We demonstrate that females, but not males, discriminate different UV wavelengths. Through whole-genome shotgun sequencing and assembly of the H. charithonia genome, we discovered that UVRh1 is present on the W chromosome, making it obligately female-specific. By knocking out UVRh1, we show that UVRh1 protein expression is absent in mutant female eye tissue, as in wild-type male eyes. A PCR survey of UVRh1 sex-linkage across the genus shows that species with female-specific UVRh1 expression lack UVRh1 gDNA in males. Thus, acquisition of sex linkage is sufficient to achieve female-specific expression of UVRh1, though this does not preclude other mechanisms, like cis-regulatory evolution from also contributing. Moreover, both this event, and mutations leading to differential UV opsin sensitivity, occurred early in the history of Heliconius. These results suggest a path for acquiring sexual dimorphism distinct from existing mechanistic models. We propose a model where gene traffic to heterosomes (the W or the Y) genetically partitions a trait by sex before a phenotype shifts (spectral tuning of UV sensitivity).
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahul Chakraborty
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA92697
- Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX77843
| | | | - Andrew Dang
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA92697
| | - Kyle J. McCulloch
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA92697
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN55108
| | - Dylan Rainbow
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA92697
| | - David Carter
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, University of California, Riverside, CA92521
| | - Luna Thanh Ngo
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA92697
| | - Edwin Solares
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA92697
| | - Iskander Said
- Department of Biomolecular Engineering and Genomics Institute, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA95064
| | - Russell B. Corbett-Detig
- Department of Biomolecular Engineering and Genomics Institute, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA95064
| | | | - J. J. Emerson
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA92697
| | - Adriana D. Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA92697
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Ortiz MI, Hincapié-Peñaloza E, Molina J. Electrophysiological detection of visible wavelengths of artificial lights inducing take-off in adults of Rhodnius prolixus (Hemiptera: Triatominae). Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo 2023; 65:e25. [PMID: 37075332 PMCID: PMC10115453 DOI: 10.1590/s1678-9946202365025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 04/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Rhodnius prolixus is the most important vector of Trypanosoma cruzi in the northern part of South America. The compound eyes in adults of R. prolixus are involved in the nocturnal flight dispersion from sylvatic environments into human dwellings. During this behavior, the artificial lights play an important role in attracting R. prolixus; however, it is still not clear whether the compound eyes of this species use different visible wavelengths as a cue during active dispersion. We applied electrophysiological (electroretinography or ERG) and behavioral (take-off) experiments in a controlled laboratory setting to determine the spectral sensitivity of the compound eyes and the attraction of R. prolixus adults to discrete visible wavelengths. For the ERG experiments, flashes of 300 ms at wavelengths ranging between 350 and 700 nm at a constant intensity of 3.4 µW/cm2 were tested after adaptation to darkness and to blue and yellow lights. For the behavioral experiments, the adults were exposed to nine visible wavelengths at three different intensities, and their direction of take-off in an experimental arena was established with circular statistics. The ERG results showed peaks of spectral sensitivity at 470-490 nm and 520-550 nm in adults, while behavioral experiments showed attractions to blue, green and red lights, depending on the intensity of the light stimuli. The electrophysiological and behavioral results confirm that R. prolixus adults can detect certain wavelengths in the visible spectrum of light and be attracted to them during take-off.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario Iván Ortiz
- Universidad de los Andes, Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Tropical, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Eduwin Hincapié-Peñaloza
- Universidad de los Andes, Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Tropical, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Jorge Molina
- Universidad de los Andes, Centro de Investigaciones en Microbiología y Parasitología Tropical, Bogotá, Colombia
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3
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The diversity of invertebrate visual opsins spanning Protostomia, Deuterostomia, and Cnidaria. Dev Biol 2022; 492:187-199. [PMID: 36272560 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2022.10.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Revised: 09/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Across eumetazoans, the ability to perceive and respond to visual stimuli is largely mediated by opsins, a family of proteins belonging to the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) superclass. Lineage-specific gains and losses led to a striking diversity in the numbers, types, and spectral sensitivities conferred by visual opsin gene expression. Here, we review the diversity of visual opsins and differences in opsin gene expression from well-studied protostome, invertebrate deuterostome, and cnidarian groups. We discuss the functional significance of opsin expression differences and spectral tuning among lineages. In some cases, opsin evolution has been linked to the detection of relevant visual signals, including sexually selected color traits and host plant features. In other instances, variation in opsins has not been directly linked to functional or ecological differences. Overall, the array of opsin expression patterns and sensitivities across invertebrate lineages highlight the diversity of opsins in the eumetazoan ancestor and the labile nature of opsins over evolutionary time.
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4
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Ilić M, Chen PJ, Pirih P, Meglič A, Prevc J, Yago M, Belušič G, Arikawa K. Simple and complex, sexually dimorphic retinal mosaic of fritillary butterflies. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210276. [PMID: 36058236 PMCID: PMC9441240 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2021] [Accepted: 01/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Butterflies have variable sets of spectral photoreceptors that underlie colour vision. The photoreceptor organization may be optimized for the detection of body coloration. Fritillaries (Argynnini) are nymphalid butterflies exhibiting varying degrees of sexual dimorphism in wing coloration. In two sister species, the females have orange (Argynnis paphia) and dark wings (Argynnis sagana), respectively, while the males of both species have orange wings with large patches of pheromone-producing androconia. In spite of the differences in female coloration, the eyes of both species exhibit an identical sexual dimorphism. The female eyeshine is uniform yellow, while the males have a complex retinal mosaic with yellow and red-reflecting ommatidia. We found the basic set of ultraviolet-, blue- and green-peaking photoreceptors in both sexes. Males additionally have three more photoreceptor classes, peaking in green, yellow and red, respectively. The latter is the basal R9, indirectly measured through hyperpolarizations in the green-peaking R1-2. In many nymphalid tribes, including the closely related Heliconiini, the retinal mosaic is complex in both sexes. We hypothesize that the simple mosaic of female Argynnini is a secondary reduction, possibly driven by the use of olfaction for intraspecific recognition, whereas vision remains the primary sense for the task in the males. This article is part of the theme issue 'Understanding colour vision: molecular, physiological, neuronal and behavioural studies in arthropods'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marko Ilić
- Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Večna pot 111, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Laboratory of Neuroethology, Sokendai - The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, 240-0193 Hayama, Japan
| | - Pei-Ju Chen
- Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology, Academia Sinica, 11529 Taipei, Taiwan
- Laboratory of Neuroethology, Sokendai - The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, 240-0193 Hayama, Japan
| | - Primož Pirih
- Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Večna pot 111, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Andrej Meglič
- Eye Hospital, University Medical Centre, Grablovičeva 46, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Jošt Prevc
- Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Večna pot 111, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Masaya Yago
- The University Museum, The University of Tokyo, Hongo, 113-0033 Tokyo, Japan
| | - Gregor Belušič
- Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Večna pot 111, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Kentaro Arikawa
- Laboratory of Neuroethology, Sokendai - The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, 240-0193 Hayama, Japan
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McCulloch KJ, Macias-Muñoz A, Briscoe AD. Insect opsins and evo-devo: what have we learned in 25 years? Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210288. [PMID: 36058243 PMCID: PMC9441233 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2021] [Accepted: 01/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The visual pigments known as opsins are the primary molecular basis for colour vision in animals. Insects are among the most diverse of animal groups and their visual systems reflect a variety of life histories. The study of insect opsins in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has led to major advances in the fields of neuroscience, development and evolution. In the last 25 years, research in D. melanogaster has improved our understanding of opsin genotype-phenotype relationships while comparative work in other insects has expanded our understanding of the evolution of insect eyes via gene duplication, coexpression and homologue switching. Even so, until recently, technology and sampling have limited our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms that evolution uses to shape the diversity of insect eyes. With the advent of genome editing and in vitro expression assays, the study of insect opsins is poised to reveal new frontiers in evolutionary biology, visual neuroscience, and animal behaviour. This article is part of the theme issue 'Understanding colour vision: molecular, physiological, neuronal and behavioural studies in arthropods'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle J. McCulloch
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN 55108, USA
| | - Aide Macias-Muñoz
- Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Adriana D. Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, 321 Steinhaus Hall, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
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6
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Murphy MJ, Westerman EL. Evolutionary history limits species' ability to match colour sensitivity to available habitat light. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220612. [PMID: 35582803 PMCID: PMC9115023 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0612] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
The spectrum of light that an animal sees-from ultraviolet to far red light-is governed by the number and wavelength sensitivity of a family of retinal proteins called opsins. It has been hypothesized that the spectrum of light available in an environment influences the range of colours that a species has evolved to see. However, invertebrates and vertebrates use phylogenetically distinct opsins in their retinae, and it remains unclear whether these distinct opsins influence what animals see, or how they adapt to their light environments. Systematically using published visual sensitivity data from across animal phyla, we found that terrestrial animals are more sensitive to shorter and longer wavelengths of light than aquatic animals and that invertebrates are more sensitive to shorter wavelengths of light than vertebrates. Using phylogenetically controlled analyses, we found that closed and open canopy habitat species have different spectral sensitivities when comparing across the Metazoa and excluding habitat generalists, while deepwater animals are no more sensitive to shorter wavelengths of light than shallow-water animals. Our results suggest that animals do adapt to their light environment; however, the invertebrate-vertebrate evolutionary divergence may limit the degree to which animals can perform visual tuning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J. Murphy
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
| | - Erica L. Westerman
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
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7
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Doria HB, Caliendo C, Gerber S, Pfenninger M. Photoperiod is an important seasonal selection factor in Chironomus riparius (Diptera: Chironomidae). Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blab147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Most organisms respond and can adapt to photoperiodic changes. This affects measurable end points like developmental time, survival and fertility. For ectotherms like Chironomus riparius, temperature is the most studied environmental cue regulating their life cycle, whereas photoperiodic influence is neglected. However, the developmental speed between summer and winter seasons of a field population could not be explained solely by temperature variations. Therefore, to have a comprehensive view on how photoperiods influence chironomid’s life cycle, we investigated if it plays a role in their development and if it acts as an important selective pressure on developmental time speed. To this end, first emerged C. riparius were artificially selected for seven generations. Pre-selected and unselected organisms could develop and breed independently under three light regimes: constant light (24:0 L:D), long days (16:8 L:D) and short days (8:16 L:D). Adult emergence, mean and median emergence time and fertility were integrated into the population growth rate to compare fitness. Our findings show that although developmental time is extended under short days, this same condition may exert a selective pressure towards a shorter development. Moreover, by also using photoperiodic clues to anticipate environmental changes, chironomids can potentially adapt to alterations in climate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Halina Binde Doria
- Department of Molecular Ecology, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Georg-Voigt-Straße, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Senckenberganlage, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Cosima Caliendo
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Staudinger Weg, Mainz, Germany
| | - Susanne Gerber
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Staudinger Weg, Mainz, Germany
| | - Markus Pfenninger
- Department of Molecular Ecology, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Georg-Voigt-Straße, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Senckenberganlage, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Institute for Molecular and Organismic Evolution, Johannes Gutenberg University, Johann-Joachim-Becher-Weg, Mainz, Germany
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8
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Affiliation(s)
- Avital Wagner
- Department of Chemistry Ben-Gurion University of the Negev P.O.B 653 Beer-Sheva 84105 Israel
| | - Qiang Wen
- Department of Chemistry Ben-Gurion University of the Negev P.O.B 653 Beer-Sheva 84105 Israel
| | - Noam Pinsk
- Department of Chemistry Ben-Gurion University of the Negev P.O.B 653 Beer-Sheva 84105 Israel
| | - Benjamin A. Palmer
- Department of Chemistry Ben-Gurion University of the Negev P.O.B 653 Beer-Sheva 84105 Israel
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9
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Finkbeiner SD, Briscoe AD. True UV color vision in a female butterfly with two UV opsins. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:272299. [PMID: 34587624 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.242802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
In true color vision, animals discriminate between light wavelengths, regardless of intensity, using at least two photoreceptors with different spectral sensitivity peaks. Heliconius butterflies have duplicate UV opsin genes, which encode ultraviolet and violet photoreceptors, respectively. In Heliconius erato, only females express the ultraviolet photoreceptor, suggesting females (but not males) can discriminate between UV wavelengths. We tested the ability of H. erato, and two species lacking the violet receptor, Heliconius melpomene and Eueides isabella, to discriminate between 380 and 390 nm, and between 400 and 436 nm, after being trained to associate each stimulus with a sugar reward. We found that only H. erato females have color vision in the UV range. Across species, both sexes show color vision in the blue range. Models of H. erato color vision suggest that females have an advantage over males in discriminating the inner UV-yellow corollas of Psiguria flowers from their outer orange petals. Moreover, previous models ( McCulloch et al., 2017) suggested that H. erato males have an advantage over females in discriminating Heliconius 3-hydroxykynurenine (3-OHK) yellow wing coloration from non-3-OHK yellow wing coloration found in other heliconiines. These results provide some of the first behavioral evidence for female H. erato UV color discrimination in the context of foraging, lending support to the hypothesis ( Briscoe et al., 2010) that the duplicated UV opsin genes function together in UV color vision. Taken together, the sexually dimorphic visual system of H. erato appears to have been shaped by both sexual selection and sex-specific natural selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan D Finkbeiner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.,Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Long Beach, CA 90840, USA
| | - Adriana D Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
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10
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Arikawa K, Nakatani Y, Koshitaka H, Kinoshita M. Foraging Small White Butterflies, Pieris rapae, Search Flowers Using Color Vision. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.650069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
We demonstrate that the small white butterfly,Pieris rapae, uses color vision when searching flowers for foraging. We first trained newly emerged butterflies in a series of indoor behavioral experiments to take sucrose solution on paper disks, colored either blue, green, yellow, or red. After confirming that the butterflies were trained to visit a certain colored disk, we presented all disks simultaneously. The butterflies selected the disk of trained color, even among an array of disks with different shades of gray. We performed the training using monochromatic lights and measured the action spectrum of the feeding behavior to determine the targets’Pieris-subjective brightness. We used the subjective brightness information to evaluate the behavioral results and concluded thatPieris rapaebutterflies discriminate visual stimuli based on the chromatic content independent of the intensity: they have true color vision. We also found thatPierisbutterflies innately prefer blue and yellow disks, which appears to match with their flower preference in the field, at least in part.
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11
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Meece M, Rathore S, Buschbeck EK. Stark trade-offs and elegant solutions in arthropod visual systems. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:224/4/jeb215541. [PMID: 33632851 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.215541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Vision is one of the most important senses for humans and animals alike. Diverse elegant specializations have evolved among insects and other arthropods in response to specific visual challenges and ecological needs. These specializations are the subject of this Review, and they are best understood in light of the physical limitations of vision. For example, to achieve high spatial resolution, fine sampling in different directions is necessary, as demonstrated by the well-studied large eyes of dragonflies. However, it has recently been shown that a comparatively tiny robber fly (Holcocephala) has similarly high visual resolution in the frontal visual field, despite their eyes being a fraction of the size of those of dragonflies. Other visual specializations in arthropods include the ability to discern colors, which relies on parallel inputs that are tuned to spectral content. Color vision is important for detection of objects such as mates, flowers and oviposition sites, and is particularly well developed in butterflies, stomatopods and jumping spiders. Analogous to color vision, the visual systems of many arthropods are specialized for the detection of polarized light, which in addition to communication with conspecifics, can be used for orientation and navigation. For vision in low light, optical superposition compound eyes perform particularly well. Other modifications to maximize photon capture involve large lenses, stout photoreceptors and, as has been suggested for nocturnal bees, the neural pooling of information. Extreme adaptations even allow insects to see colors at very low light levels or to navigate using the Milky Way.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Meece
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
| | - Shubham Rathore
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
| | - Elke K Buschbeck
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA
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12
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Liénard MA, Bernard GD, Allen A, Lassance JM, Song S, Childers RR, Yu N, Ye D, Stephenson A, Valencia-Montoya WA, Salzman S, Whitaker MRL, Calonje M, Zhang F, Pierce NE. The evolution of red color vision is linked to coordinated rhodopsin tuning in lycaenid butterflies. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2008986118. [PMID: 33547236 PMCID: PMC8017955 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2008986118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Color vision has evolved multiple times in both vertebrates and invertebrates and is largely determined by the number and variation in spectral sensitivities of distinct opsin subclasses. However, because of the difficulty of expressing long-wavelength (LW) invertebrate opsins in vitro, our understanding of the molecular basis of functional shifts in opsin spectral sensitivities has been biased toward research primarily in vertebrates. This has restricted our ability to address whether invertebrate Gq protein-coupled opsins function in a novel or convergent way compared to vertebrate Gt opsins. Here we develop a robust heterologous expression system to purify invertebrate rhodopsins, identify specific amino acid changes responsible for adaptive spectral tuning, and pinpoint how molecular variation in invertebrate opsins underlie wavelength sensitivity shifts that enhance visual perception. By combining functional and optophysiological approaches, we disentangle the relative contributions of lateral filtering pigments from red-shifted LW and blue short-wavelength opsins expressed in distinct photoreceptor cells of individual ommatidia. We use in situ hybridization to visualize six ommatidial classes in the compound eye of a lycaenid butterfly with a four-opsin visual system. We show experimentally that certain key tuning residues underlying green spectral shifts in blue opsin paralogs have evolved repeatedly among short-wavelength opsin lineages. Taken together, our results demonstrate the interplay between regulatory and adaptive evolution at multiple Gq opsin loci, as well as how coordinated spectral shifts in LW and blue opsins can act together to enhance insect spectral sensitivity at blue and red wavelengths for visual performance adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marjorie A Liénard
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02142;
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - Gary D Bernard
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
| | - Andrew Allen
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02142
| | - Jean-Marc Lassance
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - Siliang Song
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - Richard Rabideau Childers
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - Nanfang Yu
- Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027
| | - Dajia Ye
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - Adriana Stephenson
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - Wendy A Valencia-Montoya
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - Shayla Salzman
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | - Melissa R L Whitaker
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
| | | | - Feng Zhang
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02142
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cambridge, MA 02139
| | - Naomi E Pierce
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138;
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13
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Dyer AG, Jentsch A, Burd M, Garcia JE, Giejsztowt J, Camargo MGG, Tjørve E, Tjørve KMC, White P, Shrestha M. Fragmentary Blue: Resolving the Rarity Paradox in Flower Colors. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 11:618203. [PMID: 33552110 PMCID: PMC7859648 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.618203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2020] [Accepted: 12/17/2020] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Blue is a favored color of many humans. While blue skies and oceans are a common visual experience, this color is less frequently observed in flowers. We first review how blue has been important in human culture, and thus how our perception of blue has likely influenced the way of scientifically evaluating signals produced in nature, including approaches as disparate as Goethe's Farbenlehre, Linneaus' plant taxonomy, and current studies of plant-pollinator networks. We discuss the fact that most animals, however, have different vision to humans; for example, bee pollinators have trichromatic vision based on UV-, Blue-, and Green-sensitive photoreceptors with innate preferences for predominantly short-wavelength reflecting colors, including what we perceive as blue. The subsequent evolution of blue flowers may be driven by increased competition for pollinators, both because of a harsher environment (as at high altitude) or from high diversity and density of flowering plants (as in nutrient-rich meadows). The adaptive value of blue flowers should also be reinforced by nutrient richness or other factors, abiotic and biotic, that may reduce extra costs of blue-pigments synthesis. We thus provide new perspectives emphasizing that, while humans view blue as a less frequently evolved color in nature, to understand signaling, it is essential to employ models of biologically relevant observers. By doing so, we conclude that short wavelength reflecting blue flowers are indeed frequent in nature when considering the color vision and preferences of bees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrian G. Dyer
- School of Media and Communication, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Anke Jentsch
- Department of Disturbance Ecology, Bayreuth Center for Ecology and Environmental Research, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Martin Burd
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Jair E. Garcia
- School of Media and Communication, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Justyna Giejsztowt
- Department of Disturbance Ecology, Bayreuth Center for Ecology and Environmental Research, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Maria G. G. Camargo
- Phenology Lab, Biosciences Institute, Department of Biodiversity, UNESP – São Paulo State University, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Even Tjørve
- Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences, Lillehammer, Norway
| | | | - Peter White
- Department of Biology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Mani Shrestha
- School of Media and Communication, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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14
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Kinoshita M, Stewart FJ. Retinal organization and visual abilities for flower foraging in swallowtail butterflies. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2020; 42:76-83. [PMID: 33010475 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2020.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2020] [Revised: 09/21/2020] [Accepted: 09/22/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Papilio butterflies' ability to forage for flowers relies upon multiple visual cues such as color, brightness, and motion. Papilio learns the color of rewarding flowers and detects it at a distance. Its color vision is based on four photoreceptor classes: UV, blue, green, and red, providing sensitive wavelength discrimination. These four receptor classes also contribute to the perception of brightness and polarization. Papilio's motion vision is based on a different set of receptors: green, red, and broad band. This implies that two visual pathways exist in Papilio. The contribution of several receptor classes not only for chromatic vision but also achromatic vision likely enhances the butterfly's ability to detect flowers in complex visual environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michiyo Kinoshita
- Laboratory of Neuroethology, SOKENDAI-Hayama (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Shonan Village, Hayama 240-0193, Japan.
| | - Finlay J Stewart
- Laboratory of Neuroethology, SOKENDAI-Hayama (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Shonan Village, Hayama 240-0193, Japan
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15
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Pirih P, Meglič A, Stavenga D, Arikawa K, Belušič G. The red admiral butterfly's living light sensors and signals. Faraday Discuss 2020; 223:81-97. [PMID: 32760932 DOI: 10.1039/d0fd00075b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
We studied the wing colouration and the compound eyes of red admiral butterflies with optical methods. We measured reflectance spectra of the wing and scales of Vanessa atalanta and modelled the thin film reflectance of the wing membrane and blue scales. We utilized the eyeshine in the compound eye of Vanessa indica to determine the spectral and polarisation characteristics of its optical sensor units, the ommatidia. Pupil responses were measured with a large-aperture optophysiological setup as reduction in the eyeshine reflection caused by monochromatic stimuli. Processing of spectral and polarisation responses of individual ommatidia revealed a random array with three types of ommatidia: about 10% contain two blue-sensitive photoreceptors, 45% have two UV-sensitive photoreceptors, and 45% have a mixed UV-blue pair. All types contain six green receptors and a basal photoreceptor. Optical modelling of the rhabdom suggests that the basal photoreceptors have a red-shifted sensitivity, which might enhance the red admiral's ability to discriminate red colours on the wing. Under daylight conditions, the red shift of the basal photoreceptor is ∼30 nm, compared to the rhodopsin spectrum template peaking at 520 nm, while the shift of green photoreceptors is ∼15 nm.
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Affiliation(s)
- PrimoŽ Pirih
- Department of Biology, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
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16
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Balamurali GS, Rose S, Somanathan H, Kodandaramaiah U. Complex multi-modal sensory integration and context specificity in colour preferences of a pierid butterfly. J Exp Biol 2020; 223:jeb223271. [PMID: 32414875 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.223271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2020] [Accepted: 05/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Innate colour preferences in insects were long considered to be a non-flexible representation of a floral 'search image' guiding them to flowers during initial foraging trips. However, these colour preferences have recently been shown to be modulated by multi-sensory integration of information. Using experiments on the butterfly Catopsilia pomona (common emigrant), we demonstrate that cross-modal integration of information not only affects colour preferences but also colour learning, and in a sex-specific manner. We show that spontaneous colour preference in this species is sexually dimorphic, with males preferring both blue and yellow while females prefer yellow. With minimal training (two training sessions), both males and females learned to associate blue with reward, but females did not learn green. This suggests that the aversion to green, in the context of foraging, is stronger in females than in males, probably because green is used as a cue to find oviposition sites in butterflies. However, females learned green after extensive training (five training sessions). Intriguingly, when a floral odour was present along with green during training, female colour preference during the subsequent choice tests resembled their innate preference (preference for yellow). Our results show that multi-sensory integration of information can influence preference, sensory bias, learning and memory in butterflies, thus modulating their behaviour in a context-specific manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- G S Balamurali
- IISER-TVM Centre for Research and Education in Ecology and Evolution (ICREEE), School of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695551, India
| | - Saloni Rose
- IISER-TVM Centre for Research and Education in Ecology and Evolution (ICREEE), School of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695551, India
- School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Hema Somanathan
- IISER-TVM Centre for Research and Education in Ecology and Evolution (ICREEE), School of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695551, India
| | - Ullasa Kodandaramaiah
- IISER-TVM Centre for Research and Education in Ecology and Evolution (ICREEE), School of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695551, India
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17
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Drewniak ME, Briscoe AD, Cocucci AA, Beccacece HM, Zapata AI, Moré M. From the butterfly’s point of view: learned colour association determines differential pollination of two co-occurring mock verbains by Agraulis vanillae (Nymphalidae). Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blaa066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Learning plays an important role in the location and utilization of nectar sources for pollinators. In this work we focus on the plant-pollinator interaction between the butterfly Agraulis vanillae (Nymphalidae) and two Glandularia plant species (Verbenaceae) that grow in sympatry. Bioassays using arrays of artificial flowers (red vs. lilac-purple) showed that naïve A. vanillae butterflies do not have innate colour preferences for any of the tested colours. Trained butterflies were able to learn to associate both floral colours with the presence of nectar rewards. Wild A. vanillae butterflies visited the red flowers of Glandularia peruviana much more frequently than the lilac-purple flowers of Glandularia venturii. Standing nectar crop measurements showed that G. peruviana flowers offered three times more sucrose than the flowers of G. venturii. Analyses confirmed that corolla colour of G. peruviana (red flowers) and G. venturii (lilac-purple flowers) were discriminable in the butterfly’s colour space. These findings may indicate flexibility in A. vanillae preferences due to a learned association between red coloration and higher nectar rewards.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Eugenia Drewniak
- Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (CONICET-UNC), Córdoba, Argentina
- Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Adriana D Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Andrea A Cocucci
- Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (CONICET-UNC), Córdoba, Argentina
- Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Hernán M Beccacece
- Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Adriana I Zapata
- Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Marcela Moré
- Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (CONICET-UNC), Córdoba, Argentina
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18
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Schneider RF, Rometsch SJ, Torres-Dowdall J, Meyer A. Habitat light sets the boundaries for the rapid evolution of cichlid fish vision, while sexual selection can tune it within those limits. Mol Ecol 2020; 29:1476-1493. [PMID: 32215986 DOI: 10.1111/mec.15416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2018] [Revised: 03/07/2020] [Accepted: 03/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Cichlid fishes' famous diversity in body coloration is accompanied by a highly diverse and complex visual system. Although cichlids possess an unusually high number of seven cone opsin genes, they express only a subset of these during their ontogeny, accounting for their astonishing interspecific variation in visual sensitivities. Much of this diversity is thought to have been shaped by natural selection as cichlids inhabit a variety of habitats with distinct light environments. Also, sexual selection might have contributed to the observed visual diversity, and sexual dimorphism in coloration potentially co-evolved with sexual dimorphism in opsin expression. We investigated sex-specific opsin expression of several cichlids from Africa and the Neotropics and collected and integrated data sets on sex-specific body coloration, species-specific visual sensitivities, lens transmission and habitat light properties for some of them. We comparatively analysed this wide range of molecular and ecological data, illustrating how integrative approaches can address specific questions on the factors and mechanisms driving diversification, and the evolution of cichlid vision in particular. We found that both sexes expressed opsins at the same levels-even in sexually dimorphic cichlid species-which argues against coevolution of sexual dichromatism and differences in sex-specific visual sensitivity. Rather, a combination of environmental light properties and body coloration shaped the diversity in spectral sensitivities among cichlids. We conclude that although cichlids are particularly colourful and diverse and often sexually dimorphic, it would appear that natural rather than sexual selection is a more powerful force driving visual diversity in this hyperdiverse lineage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ralph F Schneider
- Lehrstuhl für Zoologie und Evolutionsbiologie, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.,Department of Marine Ecology, GEOMAR, Kiel, Germany
| | - Sina J Rometsch
- Lehrstuhl für Zoologie und Evolutionsbiologie, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Julián Torres-Dowdall
- Lehrstuhl für Zoologie und Evolutionsbiologie, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Axel Meyer
- Lehrstuhl für Zoologie und Evolutionsbiologie, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
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19
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Wright DS, van Eijk R, Schuart L, Seehausen O, Groothuis TGG, Maan ME. Testing sensory drive speciation in cichlid fish: Linking light conditions to opsin expression, opsin genotype and female mate preference. J Evol Biol 2019; 33:422-434. [PMID: 31820840 PMCID: PMC7187155 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2019] [Accepted: 12/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Ecological speciation is facilitated when divergent adaptation has direct effects on selective mating. Divergent sensory adaptation could generate such direct effects, by mediating both ecological performance and mate selection. In aquatic environments, light attenuation creates distinct photic environments, generating divergent selection on visual systems. Consequently, divergent sensory drive has been implicated in the diversification of several fish species. Here, we experimentally test whether divergent visual adaptation explains the divergence of mate preferences in Haplochromine cichlids. Blue and red Pundamilia co‐occur across south‐eastern Lake Victoria. They inhabit different photic conditions and have distinct visual system properties. Previously, we documented that rearing fish under different light conditions influences female preference for blue versus red males. Here, we examine to what extent variation in female mate preference can be explained by variation in visual system properties, testing the causal link between visual perception and preference. We find that our experimental light manipulations influence opsin expression, suggesting a potential role for phenotypic plasticity in optimizing visual performance. However, variation in opsin expression does not explain species differences in female preference. Instead, female preference covaries with allelic variation in the long‐wavelength‐sensitive opsin gene (LWS), when assessed under broad‐spectrum light. Taken together, our study presents evidence for environmental plasticity in opsin expression and confirms the important role of colour perception in shaping female mate preferences in Pundamilia. However, it does not constitute unequivocal evidence for the direct effects of visual adaptation on assortative mating.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Shane Wright
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Roel van Eijk
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Lisa Schuart
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.,University of Applied Sciences van Hall Larenstein, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
| | - Ole Seehausen
- Institute of Ecology & Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Department Fish Ecology & Evolution, Eawag, Center for Ecology, Evolution and Biogeochemistry, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland
| | - Ton G G Groothuis
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Martine E Maan
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.,Institute of Ecology & Evolution, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Department Fish Ecology & Evolution, Eawag, Center for Ecology, Evolution and Biogeochemistry, Kastanienbaum, Switzerland
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20
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Blake AJ, Go MC, Hahn GS, Grey H, Couture S, Gries G. Polarization of foliar reflectance: novel host plant cue for insect herbivores. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20192198. [PMID: 31744439 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Insect herbivores exploit plant cues to discern host and non-host plants. Studies of visual plant cues have focused on colour despite the inherent polarization sensitivity of insect photoreceptors and the information carried by polarization of foliar reflectance, most notably the degree of linear polarization (DoLP; 0-100%). The DoLP of foliar reflection was hypothesized to be a host plant cue for insects but was never experimentally tested. Here, we show that cabbage white butterflies, Pieris rapae (Pieridae), exploit the DoLP of foliar reflections to discriminate among plants. In experiments with paired digital plant images, P. rapae females preferred images of the host plant cabbage with a low DoLP (31%) characteristic of cabbage foliage over images of a non-host potato plant with a higher DoLP (50%). By reversing the DoLP of these images, we were able to shift the butterflies' preference for the cabbage host plant image to the potato non-host plant image, indicating that the DoLP had a greater effect on foraging decisions than the differential colour, intensity, or shape of the two plant images. Although previously not recognized, the DoLP of foliar reflection is an essential plant cue that may commonly be exploited by foraging insect herbivores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam J Blake
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Matthew C Go
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.,Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Gina S Hahn
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Hayley Grey
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Samuel Couture
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Gerhard Gries
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
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21
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Zhang W, Leon-Ricardo BX, van Schooten B, Van Belleghem SM, Counterman BA, McMillan WO, Kronforst MR, Papa R. Comparative Transcriptomics Provides Insights into Reticulate and Adaptive Evolution of a Butterfly Radiation. Genome Biol Evol 2019; 11:2963-2975. [PMID: 31518398 PMCID: PMC6821300 DOI: 10.1093/gbe/evz202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Butterfly eyes are complex organs that are composed of a diversity of proteins and they play a central role in visual signaling and ultimately, speciation, and adaptation. Here, we utilized the whole eye transcriptome to obtain a more holistic view of the evolution of the butterfly eye while accounting for speciation events that co-occur with ancient hybridization. We sequenced and assembled transcriptomes from adult female eyes of eight species representing all major clades of the Heliconius genus and an additional outgroup species, Dryas iulia. We identified 4,042 orthologous genes shared across all transcriptome data sets and constructed a transcriptome-wide phylogeny, which revealed topological discordance with the mitochondrial phylogenetic tree in the Heliconius pupal mating clade. We then estimated introgression among lineages using additional genome data and found evidence for ancient hybridization leading to the common ancestor of Heliconius hortense and Heliconius clysonymus. We estimated the Ka/Ks ratio for each orthologous cluster and performed further tests to demonstrate genes showing evidence of adaptive protein evolution. Furthermore, we characterized patterns of expression for a subset of these positively selected orthologs using qRT-PCR. Taken together, we identified candidate eye genes that show signatures of adaptive molecular evolution and provide evidence of their expression divergence between species, tissues, and sexes. Our results demonstrate: 1) greater evolutionary changes in younger Heliconius lineages, that is, more positively selected genes in the cydno-melpomene-hecale group as opposed to the sara-hortense-erato group, and 2) suggest an ancient hybridization leading to speciation among Heliconius pupal-mating species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Protein and Plant Gene Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, and School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago
| | | | - Bas van Schooten
- Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico
- Molecular Sciences and Research Center, University of Puerto Rico
| | | | | | | | | | - Riccardo Papa
- Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico
- Molecular Sciences and Research Center, University of Puerto Rico
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22
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Mishra M, Rathore V, Sahu S, Sahoo H. The contribution of nanostructures towards the wing patterning of yellow Catopsilia pomona. How it differs from the lime? Microscopy (Oxf) 2019; 68:289-300. [PMID: 30839060 DOI: 10.1093/jmicro/dfz012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2018] [Revised: 02/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Polyphenism, an adaptation to survive throughout the year, is shown by many butterflies including Catopsilia pomona. With the variation of seasons, different morphs were found. Among all the morphs, lime exists throughout the year whereas the yellow one is available only in the winter season. The current study deciphers the colouration mechanism of yellow morph using various microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. The scanning electron microscopy analysis reveals various types of scales on the dorsal as well as the ventral side. The shape of the cover scale varies from region to region. The fine structural arrangement of the scale like window, ridge, microrib, crossrib and pigments vary throughout the wing. The pigment present in the wing is pterin as evidenced from the shape and its isolation technique. Absorption spectroscopy further confirms the presence of various types of pterin within the wing. Scanning electron microscopy discloses the dense amount of pigments within the wing. The fine structural arrangement of the wing of yellow C. pomona is compared with the yellow region of the lime C. pomona. All together, the current study describes the fine structural arrangement of the wing of yellow C. pomona and the various types of pterin which contribute towards the wing colouration. The advantage of yellow morph over lime is also discussed in this paper.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monalisa Mishra
- Neural Developmental Biology Lab, Department of Life Science, National Institute of Rourkela, Rourkela, Odisha, India
| | - Varsha Rathore
- Neural Developmental Biology Lab, Department of Life Science, National Institute of Rourkela, Rourkela, Odisha, India
| | - Swetapadma Sahu
- Neural Developmental Biology Lab, Department of Life Science, National Institute of Rourkela, Rourkela, Odisha, India
| | - Harekrushna Sahoo
- Biophysical Chemistry Lab, Department of Chemistry, National Institute of Rourkela, Rourkela, Odisha, India
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23
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Blake AJ, Pirih P, Qiu X, Arikawa K, Gries G. Compound eyes of the small white butterfly Pieris rapae have three distinct classes of red photoreceptors. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2019; 205:553-565. [PMID: 31123814 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-019-01330-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2018] [Revised: 02/25/2019] [Accepted: 03/18/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
The two subspecies of the small white butterfly, the European Pieris rapae rapae and the Asian P. r. crucivora, differ in wing colouration. Under ultraviolet light, the wings of both male and female P. r. rapae appear dark, whereas the wings of male P. r. crucivora are dark and those of females are bright. It has been hypothesized that these sexually dimorphic wing reflections in P. r. crucivora may have induced the evolution of a fluorescing-screening pigment in the violet-opsin-expressing photoreceptors of males, thus facilitating greater wavelength discrimination near 400 nm. Comparing the compound eyes of the two subspecies using genetic, microscopical, spectrographic, and histological methods revealed no differences that would meaningfully affect photoreceptor sensitivity, suggesting that the fluorescing-screening pigment did not evolve in response to sexually dimorphic wing reflections. Our investigation further revealed that (i) the peri-rhabdomal reddish-screening pigments differ among the three ommatidial types; (ii) each of the ommatidial types exhibits a unique class of red photoreceptor with a distinct spectral peak; and (iii) the blue, green, and red photoreceptors of P. rapae exhibit a polarization sensitivity > 2, with red photoreceptors allowing for a two-channel opponency form of polarization sensitivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam J Blake
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, V5A1S6, Canada.
| | - Primož Pirih
- Laboratory of Neuroethology, Sokendai-Hayama (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Hayama, 240-0193, Japan.,Computational Physics, Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, 9747 AG, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Xudong Qiu
- Graduate School of Integrated Science, Yokohama City University, 22-2 Seto, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, 236-0027, Japan.,Department of Cancer Systems Imaging, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 77054, USA
| | - Kentaro Arikawa
- Laboratory of Neuroethology, Sokendai-Hayama (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Hayama, 240-0193, Japan
| | - Gerhard Gries
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, V5A1S6, Canada
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24
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Balamurali GS, Edison A, Somanathan H, Kodandaramaiah U. Spontaneous colour preferences and colour learning in the fruit-feeding butterfly, Mycalesis mineus. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-019-2648-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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25
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Schnaitmann C, Haikala V, Abraham E, Oberhauser V, Thestrup T, Griesbeck O, Reiff DF. Color Processing in the Early Visual System of Drosophila. Cell 2018; 172:318-330.e18. [PMID: 29328919 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2017.12.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2017] [Revised: 10/03/2017] [Accepted: 12/14/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Color vision extracts spectral information by comparing signals from photoreceptors with different visual pigments. Such comparisons are encoded by color-opponent neurons that are excited at one wavelength and inhibited at another. Here, we examine the circuit implementation of color-opponent processing in the Drosophila visual system by combining two-photon calcium imaging with genetic dissection of visual circuits. We report that color-opponent processing of UVshort/blue and UVlong/green is already implemented in R7/R8 inner photoreceptor terminals of "pale" and "yellow" ommatidia, respectively. R7 and R8 photoreceptors of the same type of ommatidia mutually inhibit each other directly via HisCl1 histamine receptors and receive additional feedback inhibition that requires the second histamine receptor Ort. Color-opponent processing at the first visual synapse represents an unexpected commonality between Drosophila and vertebrates; however, the differences in the molecular and cellular implementation suggest that the same principles evolved independently.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Schnaitmann
- Department for Animal Physiology and Neurobiology, Institute of Biology I, Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Väinö Haikala
- Department for Animal Physiology and Neurobiology, Institute of Biology I, Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Eva Abraham
- Department for Animal Physiology and Neurobiology, Institute of Biology I, Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Vitus Oberhauser
- Department for Animal Physiology and Neurobiology, Institute of Biology I, Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Thestrup
- Tools for Bio-Imaging, Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Oliver Griesbeck
- Tools for Bio-Imaging, Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - Dierk F Reiff
- Department for Animal Physiology and Neurobiology, Institute of Biology I, Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany.
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26
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Stella D, Faltýnek Fric Z, Rindoš M, Kleisner K, Pechácek P. Distribution of Ultraviolet Ornaments in Colias Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Pieridae). ENVIRONMENTAL ENTOMOLOGY 2018; 47:1344-1354. [PMID: 30085041 DOI: 10.1093/ee/nvy111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Ultraviolet patterns in butterflies have been recognized and studied for many years. They are frequently involved in both intraspecific and interspecific interactions. Only a handful of studies, however, have investigated possible links between ultraviolet (UV) reflectance and ecological properties in some genera of the Lepidoptera as a whole. This study examines the impact of habitat and distribution on UV reflectance patterns on the wings of 106 species and subspecies of Colias butterflies. Based on standardized digital photographs, we performed a multivariate analysis of relations between UV reflectance, preferred habitat (alpine, arctic, dry grasslands, humid, forest, and ubiquitous), and distribution area (Afrotropical, Nearctic, Neotropical, European, Caucaso-Anatolian, boreal Eurasian, Central Asian mountains, northern China and Japan, and northern Oriental region). UV patterns occur more frequently in the male (60 taxa) than in female (25 taxa) Coliads. This difference in presence of UV patterns is used for differentiating between the males and females of a given species or subspecies. Further possible explanations of this phenomenon are also discussed. This study also shows that particular configurations of UV patterns are significantly associated with particular distribution areas. This relation is relatively strong but overall trends remain unclear. Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that there exists a significant difference in the configuration of UV reflectance between the sexes, and that the configuration of UV reflectance significantly interacts with the geographical distribution of Colias species and subspecies.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Stella
- Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Vinicná, Czech Republic
| | - Zdenek Faltýnek Fric
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, Branišovská, Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Michal Rindoš
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, Branišovská, Budějovice, Czech Republic
- University of South Bohemia, Faculty of Science, Branišovská, Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Karel Kleisner
- Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Vinicná, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Pechácek
- Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Vinicná, Czech Republic
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Pirih P, Ilić M, Rudolf J, Arikawa K, Stavenga DG, Belušič G. The giant butterfly-moth Paysandisia archon has spectrally rich apposition eyes with unique light-dependent photoreceptor dynamics. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2018; 204:639-651. [PMID: 29869100 PMCID: PMC6028894 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-018-1267-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2017] [Revised: 04/20/2018] [Accepted: 05/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The palm borer moth Paysandisia archon (Burmeister, 1880) (fam. Castniidae) is a large, diurnally active palm pest. Its compound eyes consist of ~ 20,000 ommatidia and have apposition optics with interommatidial angles below 1°. The ommatidia contain nine photoreceptor cells and appear structurally similar to those in nymphalid butterflies. Two morphological ommatidial types were identified. Using the butterfly numbering scheme, in type I ommatidia, the distal rhabdom consists exclusively of the rhabdomeres of photoreceptors R1–2; the medial rhabdom has contributions from R1–8. The rhabdom in type II ommatidia is distally split into two sub-rhabdoms, with contributions from photoreceptors R2, R3, R5, R6 and R1, R4, R7, R8, respectively; medially, only R3–8 and not R1–2 contribute to the fused rhabdom. In both types, the pigmented bilobed photoreceptors R9 contribute to the rhabdom basally. Their nuclei reside in one of the lobes. Upon light adaptation, in both ommatidial types, the rhabdoms secede from the crystalline cones and pigment granules invade the gap. Intracellular recordings identified four photoreceptor classes with peak sensitivities in the ultraviolet, blue, green and orange wavelength regions (at 360, 465, 550, 580 nm, respectively). We discuss the eye morphology and optics, the photoreceptor spectral sensitivities, and the adaptation to daytime activity from a phylogenetic perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Primož Pirih
- Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, SOKENDAI The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Shonan International Village, Hayama, 240-0115, Kanagawa, Japan. .,Department of Artificial Intelligence, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 9, 9747 AG, Groningen, The Netherlands.
| | - Marko Ilić
- Department of Biology, Biotechnical faculty, University of Ljubljana, Večna pot 111, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Jerneja Rudolf
- Department of Biology, Biotechnical faculty, University of Ljubljana, Večna pot 111, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.,Sars International Centre for Marine Molecular Biology, University of Bergen, Thormøhlensgt. 55, 5006, Bergen, Norway
| | - Kentaro Arikawa
- Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, SOKENDAI The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Shonan International Village, Hayama, 240-0115, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Doekele G Stavenga
- Department of Computational Physics, Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, NL, 9747AG, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Gregor Belušič
- Department of Biology, Biotechnical faculty, University of Ljubljana, Večna pot 111, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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Stella D, Pecháček P, Meyer-Rochow VB, Kleisner K. UV reflectance is associated with environmental conditions in Palaearctic Pieris napi (Lepidoptera: Pieridae). INSECT SCIENCE 2018; 25:508-518. [PMID: 27943620 DOI: 10.1111/1744-7917.12429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2016] [Revised: 10/17/2016] [Accepted: 11/22/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The subject of our investigation was the visual features of wing color with special focus on the UV reflectance in the green-veined white butterfly (Pieris napi). Previous studies had concluded that UV reflectance on dorsal wing surfaces is found only in the female P. napi. Based on UV sensitive photography, we analyzed a correlation between 12 geographic and environmental factors and UV reflectance patterns on 3 patches on the forewings of 407 P. napi specimens from the Palaearctic region. Results had shown that females significantly differ from males: they exhibit a 25% higher UV reflectance. To investigate whether and how UV reflectance levels on the forewings and hindwings of both sexes are influenced by the environment, we performed a principal component analysis (PCA) with several environmental variables. For several variables (in particular, latitude and longitude, mean annual temperature and precipitation, and temperature annual range and altitude), the generalized linear model (GLM) model revealed a significant correlation in both sexes. This suggests a link between UV reflectance levels and the environment and distribution of P. napi. We found that stronger UV reflectance is associated with generally more hostile environments and concluded that large-scale environmental factors influence the UV reflectance on the forewings of both male and female green-veined white butterflies.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Stella
- Faculty of Science, Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Pecháček
- Faculty of Science, Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Victor Benno Meyer-Rochow
- Department of Biology, Research Institute of Luminescent Organisms, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Genetics and Physiology, Oulu University, Oulu, Finland
| | - Karel Kleisner
- Faculty of Science, Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
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Lind O, Henze MJ, Kelber A, Osorio D. Coevolution of coloration and colour vision? Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 372:rstb.2016.0338. [PMID: 28533455 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2016.0338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/29/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The evolutionary relationship between signals and animal senses has broad significance, with potential consequences for speciation, and for the efficacy and honesty of biological communication. Here we outline current understanding of the diversity of colour vision in two contrasting groups: the phylogenetically conservative birds, and the more variable butterflies. Evidence for coevolution of colour signals and vision exists in both groups, but is limited to observations of phenotypic differences between visual systems, which might be correlated with coloration. Here, to illustrate how one might interpret the evolutionary significance of such differences, we used colour vision modelling based on an avian eye to evaluate the effects of variation in three key characters: photoreceptor spectral sensitivity, oil droplet pigmentation and the proportions of different photoreceptor types. The models predict that physiologically realistic changes in any one character will have little effect, but complementary shifts in all three can substantially affect discriminability of three types of natural spectra. These observations about the adaptive landscape of colour vision may help to explain the general conservatism of photoreceptor spectral sensitivities in birds. This approach can be extended to other types of eye and spectra to inform future work on coevolution of coloration and colour vision.This article is part of the themed issue 'Animal coloration: production, perception, function and application'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olle Lind
- Department of Philosophy, Cognitive Science, Helgonavägen 3, 22362 Lund, Sweden
| | - Miriam J Henze
- Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
| | - Almut Kelber
- Department of Biology, Lund Vision Group, Lund University, Sölvegatan 35, 22362 Lund, Sweden
| | - Daniel Osorio
- School of Life Sciences, John Maynard Smith Building, University of Sussex, Falmer, BN1 9QG, UK
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Arikawa K, Iwanaga T, Wakakuwa M, Kinoshita M. Unique Temporal Expression of Triplicated Long-Wavelength Opsins in Developing Butterfly Eyes. Front Neural Circuits 2017; 11:96. [PMID: 29238294 PMCID: PMC5712540 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2017.00096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2017] [Accepted: 11/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Following gene duplication events, the expression patterns of the resulting gene copies can often diverge both spatially and temporally. Here we report on gene duplicates that are expressed in distinct but overlapping patterns, and which exhibit temporally divergent expression. Butterflies have sophisticated color vision and spectrally complex eyes, typically with three types of heterogeneous ommatidia. The eyes of the butterfly Papilio xuthus express two green- and one red-absorbing visual pigment, which came about via gene duplication events, in addition to one ultraviolet (UV)- and one blue-absorbing visual pigment. We localized mRNAs encoding opsins of these visual pigments in developing eye disks throughout the pupal stage. The mRNAs of the UV and blue opsin are expressed early in pupal development (pd), specifying the type of the ommatidium in which they appear. Red sensitive photoreceptors first express a green opsin mRNA, which is replaced later by the red opsin mRNA. Broadband photoreceptors (that coexpress the green and red opsins) first express the green opsin mRNA, later change to red opsin mRNA and finally re-express the green opsin mRNA in addition to the red mRNA. Such a unique temporal and spatial expression pattern of opsin mRNAs may reflect the evolution of visual pigments and provide clues toward understanding how the spectrally complex eyes of butterflies evolved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kentaro Arikawa
- Laboratory of Neuroethology, Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Hayama, Japan
| | - Tomoyuki Iwanaga
- Graduate School of Integrated Science, Yokohama City University, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Motohiro Wakakuwa
- Laboratory of Neuroethology, Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Hayama, Japan
| | - Michiyo Kinoshita
- Laboratory of Neuroethology, Department of Evolutionary Studies of Biosystems, Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Hayama, Japan
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31
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McCulloch KJ, Yuan F, Zhen Y, Aardema ML, Smith G, Llorente-Bousquets J, Andolfatto P, Briscoe AD. Sexual Dimorphism and Retinal Mosaic Diversification following the Evolution of a Violet Receptor in Butterflies. Mol Biol Evol 2017; 34:2271-2284. [DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msx163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
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32
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Kinoshita M, Stewart FJ, Ômura H. Multisensory integration in Lepidoptera: Insights into flower-visitor interactions. Bioessays 2017; 39. [DOI: 10.1002/bies.201600086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Michiyo Kinoshita
- Laboratory of Neuroethology; SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies); Shonan Village Hayama Japan
| | - Finlay J. Stewart
- Laboratory of Neuroethology; SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies); Shonan Village Hayama Japan
| | - Hisashi Ômura
- Graduate School of Biosphere Science; Hiroshima University; Higashi-hiroshima Hiroshima Japan
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Chouinard-Thuly L, Gierszewski S, Rosenthal GG, Reader SM, Rieucau G, Woo KL, Gerlai R, Tedore C, Ingley SJ, Stowers JR, Frommen JG, Dolins FL, Witte K. Technical and conceptual considerations for using animated stimuli in studies of animal behavior. Curr Zool 2017; 63:5-19. [PMID: 29491958 PMCID: PMC5804155 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zow104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2016] [Accepted: 10/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Rapid technical advances in the field of computer animation (CA) and virtual reality (VR) have opened new avenues in animal behavior research. Animated stimuli are powerful tools as they offer standardization, repeatability, and complete control over the stimulus presented, thereby "reducing" and "replacing" the animals used, and "refining" the experimental design in line with the 3Rs. However, appropriate use of these technologies raises conceptual and technical questions. In this review, we offer guidelines for common technical and conceptual considerations related to the use of animated stimuli in animal behavior research. Following the steps required to create an animated stimulus, we discuss (I) the creation, (II) the presentation, and (III) the validation of CAs and VRs. Although our review is geared toward computer-graphically designed stimuli, considerations on presentation and validation also apply to video playbacks. CA and VR allow both new behavioral questions to be addressed and existing questions to be addressed in new ways, thus we expect a rich future for these methods in both ultimate and proximate studies of animal behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Chouinard-Thuly
- Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Docteur Penfield, Montréal, Quebec, Canada H3A 1B1
| | - Stefanie Gierszewski
- Research Group of Ecology and Behavioral Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Siegen, Adolf-Reichwein Str. 2, Siegen 57068, Germany
| | - Gil G. Rosenthal
- Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Texas A&M University, 3258 TAMU College Station, TX 77843, USA
- Centro de Investigaciones Científicas de las Huastecas “Aguazarca”, Calnali, Hidalgo, México
| | - Simon M. Reader
- Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Docteur Penfield, Montréal, Quebec, Canada H3A 1B1
| | - Guillaume Rieucau
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, 3000 Northeast 151 Street, North Miami, FL 33181, USA
| | - Kevin L. Woo
- SUNY Empire State College, Metropolitan Center, 325 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10013-1005, USA
| | - Robert Gerlai
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5L 1C6
| | - Cynthia Tedore
- Lund Vision Group, Department of Biology, Lund University, Sölvegatan 35, Lund 22362, Sweden
| | - Spencer J. Ingley
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB#3280, Coker Hall, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - John R. Stowers
- Research Institute of Molecular Pathology IMP, Vienna Biocenter VBC, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 7, Vienna 1030, Austria
- loopbio gmbh, Hauptstrasse 93, Kritzendorf 3420, Austria
| | - Joachim G. Frommen
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Wohlenstrasse 50a, Hinterkappelen 3032, Switzerland
| | - Francine L. Dolins
- Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Michigan-Dearborn, 4901 Evergreen Road, Dearborn, MI 48128, USA
| | - Klaudia Witte
- Research Group of Ecology and Behavioral Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Siegen, Adolf-Reichwein Str. 2, Siegen 57068, Germany
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Finkbeiner SD, Fishman DA, Osorio D, Briscoe AD. Ultraviolet and yellow reflectance but not fluorescence is important for visual discrimination of conspecifics by Heliconius erato. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017; 220:1267-1276. [PMID: 28108668 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.153593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2016] [Accepted: 01/11/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Toxic Heliconius butterflies have yellow hindwing bars that - unlike those of their closest relatives - reflect ultraviolet (UV) and long wavelength light, and also fluoresce. The pigment in the yellow scales is 3-hydroxy-dl-kynurenine (3-OHK), which is found in the hair and scales of a variety of animals. In other butterflies like pierids with color schemes characterized by independent sources of variation in UV and human-visible yellow/orange, behavioral experiments have generally implicated the UV component as most relevant to mate choice. This has not been addressed in Heliconius butterflies, where variation exists in analogous color components, but moreover where fluorescence due to 3-OHK could also contribute to yellow wing coloration. In addition, the potential cost due to predator visibility is largely unknown for the analogous well-studied pierid butterfly species. In field studies with butterfly paper models, we show that both UV and 3-OHK yellow act as signals for H. erato when compared with models lacking UV or resembling ancestral Eueides yellow, respectively, but attack rates by birds do not differ significantly between the models. Furthermore, measurement of the quantum yield and reflectance spectra of 3-OHK indicates that fluorescence does not contribute to the visual signal under broad-spectrum illumination. Our results suggest that the use of 3-OHK pigmentation instead of ancestral yellow was driven by sexual selection rather than predation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan D Finkbeiner
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA .,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City 0843-03092, Panama.,Department of Biological Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Dmitry A Fishman
- Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Daniel Osorio
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK
| | - Adriana D Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
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35
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Somanathan H, Borges RM, Warrant EJ, Kelber A. Visual Adaptations for Mate Detection in the Male Carpenter Bee Xylocopa tenuiscapa. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0168452. [PMID: 28107354 PMCID: PMC5249068 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0168452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2016] [Accepted: 12/01/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexual dimorphism in eye structure is attributed to sexual selection in animals that employ vision for locating mates. In many male insects, large eyes and eye regions of higher acuity are believed to facilitate the location of females. Here, we compare various features of male and female eyes in three sympatric carpenter bee species, which include two diurnal species (Xylocopa tenuiscapa and X. leucothorax) as well as a nocturnal species (X. tranquebarica). In X. tenuiscapa, males have larger eyes than females, while in the nocturnal X. tranquebarica, males have slightly smaller eyes and in X. leucothorax, the eyes are of similar size in both sexes. X. tenuiscapa males detect females by perching near nest sites (resource defence) or along fly-ways and other open areas with good visibility. Males of the other two species search for females by patrolling. We postulate that the larger eyes of male X. tenuiscapa are beneficial to their mode of mate detection since perching males may benefit from a larger visual area of high resolution detecting moving stimuli across the sky, and which may be germane to the more social and gregarious nesting behaviour of this species, compared to the other solitary bees. We tested the performance of the eyes of male X. tenuiscapa behaviourally and find that a perching male can detect a flying female at a distance of 20 m, which darkens the visual field of a single ommatidium by just 2%. This, together with the bee's high spatial resolution permits detection of moving stimuli at least as well or even better than achieved by honey bee drones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hema Somanathan
- IISER TVM Centre for Research and Education in Ecology and Evolution (ICREEE), School of Biology, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India
- * E-mail:
| | - Renee Maria Borges
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
| | - Eric J. Warrant
- Lund Vision Group, Department for Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Almut Kelber
- Lund Vision Group, Department for Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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Shi L, Vasseur L, Huang H, Zeng Z, Hu G, Liu X, You M. Adult Tea Green Leafhoppers, Empoasca onukii (Matsuda), Change Behaviors under Varying Light Conditions. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0168439. [PMID: 28103237 PMCID: PMC5245864 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0168439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2016] [Accepted: 12/01/2016] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Insect behaviors are often influenced by light conditions including photoperiod, light intensity, and wavelength. Understanding pest insect responses to changing light conditions may help with developing alternative strategies for pest control. Little is known about the behavioral responses of leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) to light conditions. The behavior of the tea green leafhopper, Empoasca onukii Matsuda, was examined when exposed to different light photoperiods or wavelengths. Observations included the frequency of locomotion and cleaning activities, and the duration of time spent searching. The results suggested that under normal photoperiod both female and male adults were generally more active in darkness (i.e., at night) than in light. In continuous darkness (DD), the locomotion and cleaning events in Period 1 (7:00-19:00) were significantly increased, when compared to the leafhoppers under normal photoperiod (LD). Leafhoppers, especially females, changed their behavioral patterns to a two day cycle under DD. Under continuous illumination (continuous quartz lamp light, yellow light at night, and green light at night), the activities of locomotion, cleaning, and searching were significantly suppressed during the night (19:00-7:00) and locomotion activities of both females and males were significantly increased during the day (7:00-19:00), suggesting a shift in circadian rhythm. Our work suggests that changes in light conditions, including photoperiod and wavelength, can influence behavioral activities of leafhoppers, potentially affecting other life history traits such as reproduction and development, and may serve as a method for leafhopper behavioral control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Longqing Shi
- Institute of Applied Ecology and Research Centre for Biodiversity and Eco-Safety, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
- Fujian-Taiwan Joint Innovation Centre for Ecological Control of Crop Pests, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management of Fujian and Taiwan, China Ministry of Agriculture, Fuzhou, China
| | - Liette Vasseur
- Institute of Applied Ecology and Research Centre for Biodiversity and Eco-Safety, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
- Fujian-Taiwan Joint Innovation Centre for Ecological Control of Crop Pests, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management of Fujian and Taiwan, China Ministry of Agriculture, Fuzhou, China
- Department of Biological Sciences, Brock University, 1812 Sir Isaac Brock Way, St. Catharines, ON L2S 3A1, Canada
| | - Huoshui Huang
- Quanzhou Entry-exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau of People's Republic of China, Quanzhou, China
| | - Zhaohua Zeng
- Institute of Applied Ecology and Research Centre for Biodiversity and Eco-Safety, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
- Institute of Plant Protection, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fuzhou, China
| | - Guiping Hu
- Jiangxi Serculture and Tea Research Institute, Nanchang County, Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China
| | - Xin Liu
- Institute of Applied Ecology and Research Centre for Biodiversity and Eco-Safety, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
- Fujian-Taiwan Joint Innovation Centre for Ecological Control of Crop Pests, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management of Fujian and Taiwan, China Ministry of Agriculture, Fuzhou, China
| | - Minsheng You
- Institute of Applied Ecology and Research Centre for Biodiversity and Eco-Safety, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
- Fujian-Taiwan Joint Innovation Centre for Ecological Control of Crop Pests, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management of Fujian and Taiwan, China Ministry of Agriculture, Fuzhou, China
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37
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Chen PJ, Awata H, Matsushita A, Yang EC, Arikawa K. Extreme Spectral Richness in the Eye of the Common Bluebottle Butterfly, Graphium sarpedon. Front Ecol Evol 2016. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2016.00018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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38
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McCulloch KJ, Osorio D, Briscoe AD. Sexual dimorphism in the compound eye of Heliconius erato: a nymphalid butterfly with at least five spectral classes of photoreceptor. J Exp Biol 2016; 219:2377-87. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.136523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2015] [Accepted: 05/23/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Most butterfly families expand the number of spectrally-distinct photoreceptors in their compound eye by opsin gene duplications together with lateral filter pigments, however most nymphalid genera have limited diversity, with only three or four spectral types of photoreceptor. Here we examine the spatial pattern of opsin expression and photoreceptor spectral sensitivities in Heliconius erato, a nymphalid with duplicate ultraviolet opsin genes, UVRh1 and UVRh2. We find that the H. erato compound eye is sexually dimorphic. Females express the two UV opsin proteins in separate photoreceptors, but males do not express UVRh1. Intracellular recordings confirmed that females have three short wavelength-sensitive photoreceptors (λmax=356 nm, ∼390 nm and 470 nm), while males have two (λmax=390 nm and ∼470 nm). We also found two long wavelength-sensitive photoreceptors (green, λmax ∼555 nm, and red, λmax ∼600 nm), which express the same LW opsin. The red cell's shifted sensitivity is probably due to perirhabdomal filtering pigments. Sexual dimorphism of the UV-absorbing rhodopsins may reflect the females' need to discriminate conspecifics from co-mimics. Red-green color vision may be used to detect differences in red coloration on Heliconius wings, or for host-plant identification. Among nymphalids so far investigated, only H. erato is known to possess five spectral classes of photoreceptor; sexual dimorphism of the eye via suppression of one class of opsin (here UVRh1 in males) has not—to our knowledge—been reported in any animal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle J. McCulloch
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, 321 Steinhaus Hall, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Daniel Osorio
- School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9QG, United Kingdom
| | - Adriana D. Briscoe
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, 321 Steinhaus Hall, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
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Wilts BD, Matsushita A, Arikawa K, Stavenga DG. Spectrally tuned structural and pigmentary coloration of birdwing butterfly wing scales. J R Soc Interface 2015; 12:20150717. [PMID: 26446560 PMCID: PMC4614508 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2015.0717] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2015] [Accepted: 09/15/2015] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The colourful wing patterns of butterflies play an important role for enhancing fitness; for instance, by providing camouflage, for interspecific mate recognition, or for aposematic display. Closely related butterfly species can have dramatically different wing patterns. The phenomenon is assumed to be caused by ecological processes with changing conditions, e.g. in the environment, and also by sexual selection. Here, we investigate the birdwing butterflies, Ornithoptera, the largest butterflies of the world, together forming a small genus in the butterfly family Papilionidae. The wings of these butterflies are marked by strongly coloured patches. The colours are caused by specially structured wing scales, which act as a chirped multilayer reflector, but the scales also contain papiliochrome pigments, which act as a spectral filter. The combined structural and pigmentary effects tune the coloration of the wing scales. The tuned colours are presumably important for mate recognition and signalling. By applying electron microscopy, (micro-)spectrophotometry and scatterometry we found that the various mechanisms of scale coloration of the different birdwing species strongly correlate with the taxonomical distribution of Ornithoptera species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bodo D Wilts
- Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland Computational Physics, Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Atsuko Matsushita
- Laboratory of Neuroethology, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Hayama, Japan
| | - Kentaro Arikawa
- Laboratory of Neuroethology, SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Hayama, Japan
| | - Doekele G Stavenga
- Computational Physics, Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
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de Busserolles F, Hart NS, Hunt DM, Davies WI, Marshall NJ, Clarke MW, Hahne D, Collin SP. Spectral Tuning in the Eyes of Deep-Sea Lanternfishes (Myctophidae): A Novel Sexually Dimorphic Intra-Ocular Filter. BRAIN, BEHAVIOR AND EVOLUTION 2015; 85:77-93. [DOI: 10.1159/000371652] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2014] [Accepted: 09/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Deep-sea fishes possess several adaptations to facilitate vision where light detection is pushed to its limit. Lanternfishes (Myctophidae), one of the world's most abundant groups of mesopelagic fishes, possess a novel and unique visual specialisation, a sexually dimorphic photostable yellow pigmentation, constituting the first record of a visual sexual dimorphism in any non-primate vertebrate. The topographic distribution of the yellow pigmentation across the retina is species specific, varying in location, shape and size. Spectrophotometric analyses reveal that this new retinal specialisation differs between species in terms of composition and acts as a filter, absorbing maximally between 356 and 443 nm. Microspectrophotometry and molecular analyses indicate that the species containing this pigmentation also possess at least 2 spectrally distinct rod visual pigments as a result of a duplication of the Rh1 opsin gene. After modelling the effect of the yellow pigmentation on photoreceptor spectral sensitivity, we suggest that this unique specialisation acts as a filter to enhance contrast, thereby improving the detection of bioluminescent emissions and possibly fluorescence in the extreme environment of the deep sea. The fact that this yellow pigmentation is species specific, sexually dimorphic and isolated within specific parts of the retina indicates an evolutionary pressure to visualise prey/predators/mates in a particular part of each species' visual field.
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41
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Bloch NI, Morrow JM, Chang BSW, Price TD. SWS2 visual pigment evolution as a test of historically contingent patterns of plumage color evolution in warblers. Evolution 2015; 69:341-56. [PMID: 25496318 DOI: 10.1111/evo.12572] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2014] [Accepted: 11/19/2014] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Distantly related clades that occupy similar environments may differ due to the lasting imprint of their ancestors-historical contingency. The New World warblers (Parulidae) and Old World warblers (Phylloscopidae) are ecologically similar clades that differ strikingly in plumage coloration. We studied genetic and functional evolution of the short-wavelength-sensitive visual pigments (SWS2 and SWS1) to ask if altered color perception could contribute to the plumage color differences between clades. We show SWS2 is short-wavelength shifted in birds that occupy open environments, such as finches, compared to those in closed environments, including warblers. Phylogenetic reconstructions indicate New World warblers were derived from a finch-like form that colonized from the Old World 15-20 Ma. During this process, the SWS2 gene accumulated six substitutions in branches leading to New World warblers, inviting the hypothesis that passage through a finch-like ancestor resulted in SWS2 evolution. In fact, we show spectral tuning remained similar across warblers as well as the finch ancestor. Results reject the hypothesis of historical contingency based on opsin spectral tuning, but point to evolution of other aspects of visual pigment function. Using the approach outlined here, historical contingency becomes a generally testable theory in systems where genotype and phenotype can be connected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natasha I Bloch
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, University of Chicago, Chicago, 60637.
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42
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Yewers MS, McLean C, Moussalli A, Stuart-Fox D, Bennett AT, Knott B. Spectral sensitivity of cone photoreceptors and opsin expression in two colour-divergent lineages of the lizard Ctenophorus decresii. J Exp Biol 2015; 218:1556-63. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.119404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2015] [Accepted: 03/16/2015] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Intraspecific differences in sensory perception are rarely reported but may occur when a species range extends across varying sensory environments, or there is coevolution between the sensory system and a varying signal. Examples in colour vision and colour signals are rare in terrestrial systems. The tawny dragon lizard Ctenophorus decresii is a promising candidate for such intraspecific variation, because the species comprises two geographically and genetically distinct lineages in which throat colour (a social signal used in intra- and inter-specific interactions) is locally adapted to the habitat and differs between lineages. Male lizards from the southern lineage have UV-blue throats, whereas males from the northern lineage are polymorphic with four discrete throat colours that all show minimal UV reflectance. Here we determine the cone photoreceptor spectral sensitivities and opsin expression of the two lineages, to test whether they differ, particularly in the UV wavelengths. Using microspectrophotometry on retinal cone photoreceptors, we identified a long wavelength sensitive visual pigment, a ‘short’ and ‘long’ medium wavelength sensitive pigment and a short wavelength sensitive pigment, all of which did not differ in λmax between lineages. Through transcriptome analysis of opsin genes we found that both lineages express four cone opsin genes, including that SWS1 opsin with peak sensitivity in the UV range, and that amino acid sequences did not differ between lineages with the exception of a single leucine/valine substitution in the RH2 opsin. Counts of yellow and transparent oil droplets associated with LWS+MWS and SWS+UVS cones respectively showed no difference in relative cone proportions between lineages. Therefore, contrary to predictions, we find no evidence of differences between lineages in single cone photoreceptor spectral sensitivity or opsin expression; however, we confirm the presence of four single cones classes and thus likely tetrachromacy in C. decresii, and provide the first evidence of UV sensitivity in agamid lizards.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Claire McLean
- The School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, VIC 3010 Australia
- Sciences Department, Museum Victoria, Carlton Gardens 3053, Australia
| | - Adnan Moussalli
- Sciences Department, Museum Victoria, Carlton Gardens 3053, Australia
| | - Devi Stuart-Fox
- The School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, VIC 3010 Australia
| | - Andrew T.D. Bennett
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3217, Australia
| | - Ben Knott
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3217, Australia
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Yan S, Zhu J, Zhu W, Zhang X, Li Z, Liu X, Zhang Q. The expression of three opsin genes from the compound eye of Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is regulated by a circadian clock, light conditions and nutritional status. PLoS One 2014; 9:e111683. [PMID: 25353953 PMCID: PMC4213014 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0111683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2014] [Accepted: 10/02/2014] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Visual genes may become inactive in species that inhabit poor light environments, and the function and regulation of opsin components in nocturnal moths are interesting topics. In this study, we cloned the ultraviolet (UV), blue (BL) and long-wavelength-sensitive (LW) opsin genes from the compound eye of the cotton bollworm and then measured their mRNA levels using quantitative real-time PCR. The mRNA levels fluctuated over a daily cycle, which might be an adaptation of a nocturnal lifestyle, and were dependent on a circadian clock. Cycling of opsin mRNA levels was disturbed by constant light or constant darkness, and the UV opsin gene was up-regulated after light exposure. Furthermore, the opsin genes tended to be down-regulated upon starvation. Thus, this study illustrates that opsin gene expression is determined by multiple endogenous and exogenous factors and is adapted to the need for nocturnal vision, suggesting that color vision may play an important role in the sensory ecology of nocturnal moths.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuo Yan
- Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Jialin Zhu
- Beijing Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Weilong Zhu
- Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Xinfang Zhang
- Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Zhen Li
- Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, P.R. China
| | - Xiaoxia Liu
- Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, P.R. China
- * E-mail: (XXL); (QWZ)
| | - Qingwen Zhang
- Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, P.R. China
- * E-mail: (XXL); (QWZ)
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Tigreros N, Mowery MA, Lewis SM. Male mate choice favors more colorful females in the gift-giving cabbage butterfly. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-014-1764-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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45
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Uchiyama H, Awata H, Kinoshita M, Arikawa K. Rough eyes of the Northeast-Asian wood white, Leptidea amurensis. J Exp Biol 2013; 216:3414-21. [PMID: 23685978 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.089169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The northeast-Asian wood white, Leptidea amurensis (Lepidoptera, Pieridae), belongs to the Dismorphiinae, a subfamily of the family Pieridae. We studied the structure of the compound eye in this species through a combination of anatomy, molecular biology and intracellular electrophysiology, with a particular focus on the evolution of butterfly eyes. We found that their eyes consist of three types of ommatidia, with a basic set of one short-, one middle- and one long-wavelength-absorbing visual pigment. The spectral sensitivities of the photoreceptors are rather simple, and peak in the ultraviolet, blue and green wavelength regions. The ommatidia have neither perirhabdomal nor fluorescent pigments, which modulate photoreceptor spectral sensitivities in a number of other butterfly species. These features are primitive, but the eyes of Leptidea exhibit another unique feature: the rough appearance of the ventral two-thirds of the eye. The roughness is due to the irregular distribution of facets of two distinct sizes. As this phenomenon exists only in males, it may represent a newly evolved sex-related feature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hironobu Uchiyama
- Laboratory of Neuroethology, Sokendai The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Shonan Village, Hayama, Kanagawa 240-0193, Japan
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Chen PJ, Arikawa K, Yang EC. Diversity of the photoreceptors and spectral opponency in the compound eye of the Golden Birdwing, Troides aeacus formosanus. PLoS One 2013; 8:e62240. [PMID: 23614043 PMCID: PMC3627921 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0062240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2013] [Accepted: 03/19/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The compound eye of the Golden Birdwing, Troides aeacus formosanus (Papilionidae, Lepidoptera), is furnished with three types of ommatidia, which are clearly different in pigmentation around the rhabdom. Each ommatidium contains nine photoreceptors, whose spectral sensitivities were analyzed electrophysiologically. We identified nine spectral types of photoreceptor with sensitivities peaking at 360 nm (UV), 390 nm (V), 440 nm (B), 510 nm (BG), 540 nm (sG), 550 nm (dG), 580 nm (O), 610 nm (R), and 630 nm (dR) respectively. The spectral sensitivities of the V, O, R and dR receptors did not match the predicted spectra of any visual pigments, but with the filtering effects of the pigments around the rhabdom, they can be reasonably explained. In some of the receptors, negative-going responses were observed when they were stimulated at certain wavelengths, indicating antagonistic interactions between photoreceptors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pei-Ju Chen
- Department of Entomology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Kentaro Arikawa
- Laboratory of Neuroethology, Sokendai-Hayama (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Hayama, Japan
| | - En-Cheng Yang
- Department of Entomology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- * E-mail:
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Nuzhnova OK, Vasilevskaya NV. The effect of color preferences on the foraging behavior of the green-veined white butterfly (Pieris napi L.). CONTEMP PROBL ECOL+ 2013. [DOI: 10.1134/s1995425513010113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Ogawa Y, Kinoshita M, Stavenga DG, Arikawa K. Sex-specific retinal pigmentation results in sexually dimorphic long-wavelength-sensitive photoreceptors in the eastern pale clouded yellow butterfly, Colias erate. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 216:1916-23. [PMID: 23393285 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.083485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The compound eyes of the eastern pale clouded yellow butterfly, Colias erate, contain three types of ommatidia (I, II and III), identifiable by the differing arrangements of pigment clusters around the rhabdoms. The pigment color is red in all ommatidial types except for type II ommatidia of females, where the pigment is orange. Intracellular recordings demonstrated that the spectral sensitivities of the proximal photoreceptors (R5-8) of all ommatidia in both sexes are strongly tuned by the perirhabdomal pigments. These pigments act as long-pass filters, shifting the peak sensitivities into the wavelength range above 600 nm. Due to the sex-specific pigments in type II ommatidia, the spectral sensitivities of the R5-8 photoreceptors of females peaked at 620 nm while those in males peaked at 660 nm. The measured spectral sensitivities could be well reproduced by an optical model assuming a long-wavelength-absorbing visual pigment with peak absorbance at 565 nm. Whereas the sexual dimorphism was unequivocally demonstrated for the ventral eye region, dimorphism in the dorsal region was not found. Presumably the ventral region is adapted for sexual behaviors such as courtship and oviposition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuri Ogawa
- Laboratory of Neuroethology, Sokendai-Hayama (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Hayama 240-0193, Japan
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Everett A, Tong X, Briscoe AD, Monteiro A. Phenotypic plasticity in opsin expression in a butterfly compound eye complements sex role reversal. BMC Evol Biol 2012. [PMID: 23194112 PMCID: PMC3549281 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-12-232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Animals often display phenotypic plasticity in morphologies and behaviors that result in distinct adaptations to fluctuating seasonal environments. The butterfly Bicyclus anynana has two seasonal forms, wet and dry, that vary in wing ornament brightness and in the identity of the sex that performs the most courting and choosing. Rearing temperature is the cue for producing these alternative seasonal forms. We hypothesized that, barring any developmental constraints, vision should be enhanced in the choosy individuals but diminished in the non-choosy individuals due to physiological costs. As a proxy of visual performance we measured eye size, facet lens size, and sensitivity to light, e.g., the expression levels of all opsins, in males and females of both seasonal forms. Results We found that B. anynana eyes displayed significant sexual dimorphism and phenotypic plasticity for both morphology and opsin expression levels, but not all results conformed to our prediction. Males had larger eyes than females across rearing temperatures, and increases in temperature produced larger eyes in both sexes, mostly via increases in facet number. Ommatidia were larger in the choosy dry season (DS) males and transcript levels for all three opsins were significantly lower in the less choosy DS females. Conclusions Opsin level plasticity in females, and ommatidia size plasticity in males supported our visual plasticity hypothesis but males appear to maintain high visual function across both seasons. We discuss our results in the context of distinct sexual and natural selection pressures that may be facing each sex in the wild in each season.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew Everett
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
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Ogawa Y, Awata H, Wakakuwa M, Kinoshita M, Stavenga DG, Arikawa K. Coexpression of three middle wavelength-absorbing visual pigments in sexually dimorphic photoreceptors of the butterfly Colias erate. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2012; 198:857-67. [PMID: 22972231 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-012-0756-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2012] [Revised: 08/29/2012] [Accepted: 08/29/2012] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
The tiered ommatidia of the Eastern Pale Clouded yellow butterfly, Colias erate, contain nine photoreceptor cells, four of which contribute their rhabdomeral microvilli to the distal tier of the rhabdom. We analyzed the visual pigments and spectral sensitivities of these distal photoreceptors in both sexes of Colias erate. A subset of photoreceptor cells expresses a newly discovered middle wavelength-absorbing opsin, Colias erate Blue (CeB), in addition to two previously described middle wavelength-absorbing opsins, CeV1 and CeV2. The other photoreceptors either coexpress CeV1 and CeV2, or exclusively express a short wavelength-absorbing opsin, CeUV, or a long wavelength-absorbing opsin, CeL. Males and females have the same visual pigment expression patterns, but the photoreceptor spectral sensitivities are sexually dimorphic. The photoreceptors coexpressing three middle wavelength-absorbing opsins are broad-blue receptors in males, but in females they are narrow-blue receptors. Those with CeV1 and CeV2 are violet receptors in females, while they are shouldered-blue receptors in males. The sexual dimorphism in spectral sensitivity is caused by a sex-specific distribution of fluorescent pigment that functions as a spectral filter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuri Ogawa
- Laboratory of Neuroethology, Sokendai-Hayama (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Hayama, 240-0193, Japan
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