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Prakash A, Dion E, Banerjee TD, Monteiro A. The molecular basis of scale development highlighted by a single-cell atlas of Bicyclus anynana butterfly pupal forewings. Cell Rep 2024; 43:114147. [PMID: 38662541 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Revised: 02/26/2024] [Accepted: 04/09/2024] [Indexed: 06/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Butterfly wings display a diversity of cell types, including large polyploid scale cells, yet the molecular basis of such diversity is poorly understood. To explore scale cell diversity at a transcriptomic level, we employ single-cell RNA sequencing of ∼5,200 large cells (>6 μm) from 22.5- to 25-h male pupal forewings of the butterfly Bicyclus anynana. Using unsupervised clustering, followed by in situ hybridization, immunofluorescence, and CRISPR-Cas9 editing of candidate genes, we annotate various cell types on the wing. We identify genes marking non-innervated scale cells, pheromone-producing glandular cells, and innervated sensory cell types. We show that senseless, a zinc-finger transcription factor, and HR38, a hormone receptor, determine the identity, size, and color of different scale cell types and are important regulators of scale cell differentiation. This dataset and the identification of various wing cell-type markers provide a foundation to compare and explore scale cell-type diversification across arthropod species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anupama Prakash
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
| | - Emilie Dion
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Tirtha Das Banerjee
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Antónia Monteiro
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
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VanKuren NW, Doellman MM, Sheikh SI, Palmer Droguett DH, Massardo D, Kronforst MR. Acute and Long-Term Consequences of Co-opted doublesex on the Development of Mimetic Butterfly Color Patterns. Mol Biol Evol 2023; 40:msad196. [PMID: 37668300 PMCID: PMC10498343 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msad196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Revised: 08/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Novel phenotypes are increasingly recognized to have evolved by co-option of conserved genes into new developmental contexts, yet the process by which co-opted genes modify existing developmental programs remains obscure. Here, we provide insight into this process by characterizing the role of co-opted doublesex in butterfly wing color pattern development. dsx is the master regulator of insect sex differentiation but has been co-opted to control the switch between discrete nonmimetic and mimetic patterns in Papilio alphenor and its relatives through the evolution of novel mimetic alleles. We found dynamic spatial and temporal expression pattern differences between mimetic and nonmimetic butterflies throughout wing development. A mimetic color pattern program is switched on by a pulse of dsx expression in early pupal development that causes acute and long-term differential gene expression, particularly in Wnt and Hedgehog signaling pathways. RNAi suggested opposing, novel roles for these pathways in mimetic pattern development. Importantly, Dsx co-option caused Engrailed, a primary target of Hedgehog signaling, to gain a novel expression domain early in pupal wing development that is propagated through mid-pupal development to specify novel mimetic patterns despite becoming decoupled from Dsx expression itself. Altogether, our findings provide multiple views into how co-opted genes can both cause and elicit changes to conserved networks and pathways to result in development of novel, adaptive phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas W VanKuren
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Meredith M Doellman
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Sofia I Sheikh
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | | | - Darli Massardo
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Marcus R Kronforst
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
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Blunk S, Garcia-Verdugo H, O’Sullivan S, Camp J, Haines M, Coalter T, Williams TA, Nagy LM. Functional Divergence of the Tribolium castaneum engrailed and invected Paralogs. INSECTS 2023; 14:691. [PMID: 37623401 PMCID: PMC10455198 DOI: 10.3390/insects14080691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Revised: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
Engrailed (en) and invected (inv) encode paralogous transcription factors found as a closely linked tandem duplication within holometabolous insects. Drosophila en mutants segment normally, then fail to maintain their segments. Loss of Drosophila inv is viable, while loss of both genes results in asegmental larvae. Surprisingly, the knockdown of Oncopeltus inv can result in the loss or fusion of the entire abdomen and en knockdowns in Tribolium show variable degrees of segmental loss. The consequence of losing or knocking down both paralogs on embryogenesis has not been studied beyond Drosophila. To further investigate the relative functions of each paralog and the mechanism behind the segmental loss, Tribolium double and single knockdowns of en and inv were analyzed. The most common cuticular phenotype of the double knockdowns was small, limbless, and open dorsally, with all but a single, segmentally iterated row of bristles. Less severe knockdowns had fused segments and reduced appendages. The Tribolium paralogs appear to act synergistically: the knockdown of either Tribolium gene alone was typically less severe, with all limbs present, whereas the most extreme single knockdowns mimic the most severe double knockdown phenotype. Morphological abnormalities unique to either single gene knockdown were not found. inv expression was not affected in the Tribolium en knockdowns, but hh expression was unexpectedly increased midway through development. Thus, while the segmental expression of en/inv is broadly conserved within insects, the functions of en and inv are evolving independently in different lineages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Summer Blunk
- Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA (H.G.-V.); (S.O.)
| | - Hector Garcia-Verdugo
- Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA (H.G.-V.); (S.O.)
| | - Sierra O’Sullivan
- Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA (H.G.-V.); (S.O.)
| | - James Camp
- Biology Department, Trinity College, Hartford, CT 06106, USA (T.A.W.)
| | - Michael Haines
- Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA (H.G.-V.); (S.O.)
| | - Tara Coalter
- Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA (H.G.-V.); (S.O.)
| | - Terri A. Williams
- Biology Department, Trinity College, Hartford, CT 06106, USA (T.A.W.)
| | - Lisa M. Nagy
- Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA (H.G.-V.); (S.O.)
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Beldade P, Monteiro A. Eco-evo-devo advances with butterfly eyespots. Curr Opin Genet Dev 2021; 69:6-13. [PMID: 33434722 DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2020.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2020] [Revised: 12/14/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Eyespots on the wings of different nymphalid butterflies have become valued models in eco-evo-devo. They are ecologically significant, evolutionarily diverse, and developmentally tractable. Their study has provided valuable insight about the genetic and developmental basis of inter-specific diversity and intra-specific variation, as well as into other key themes in evo-evo-devo: evolutionary novelty, developmental constraints, and phenotypic plasticity. Here we provide an overview of eco-evo-devo studies of butterfly eyespots, highlighting previous reviews, and focusing on both the most recent advances and the open questions expected to be solved in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrícia Beldade
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Rua da Quinta Grande 6, 2780-156 Oeiras, Portugal; CE3C: Centre for Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Changes, Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, Campo Grande C2, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal.
| | - Antónia Monteiro
- Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543, Singapore; Science Division, Yale-NUS College, Singapore 138614, Singapore.
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Banerjee TD, Monteiro A. Molecular mechanisms underlying simplification of venation patterns in holometabolous insects. Development 2020; 147:dev.196394. [DOI: 10.1242/dev.196394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2020] [Accepted: 10/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
How mechanisms of pattern formation evolve has remained a central research theme in the field of evolutionary and developmental biology. The mechanism of wing vein differentiation in Drosophila is a classic text-book example of pattern formation using a system of positional-information, yet very little is known about how species with a different number of veins pattern their wings, and how insect venation patterns evolved. Here, we examine the expression pattern of genes previously implicated in vein differentiation in Drosophila in two butterfly species with more complex venation Bicyclus anynana and Pieris canidia. We also test the function of some of these genes in B. anynana. We identify both conserved as well as new domains of decapentaplegic, engrailed, invected, spalt, optix, wingless, armadillo, blistered, and rhomboid gene expression in butterflies, and propose how the simplified venation in Drosophila might have evolved via loss of decapentaplegic, spalt and optix gene expression domains, silencing of vein inducing programs at Spalt-expression boundaries, and changes in gene expression of vein maintenance genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tirtha Das Banerjee
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Antónia Monteiro
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore
- Yale-NUS College, Singapore
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