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Evo-Devo of Butterfly Wing Patterns

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Evolutionary Developmental Biology

Abstract

The evolution and development of lepidopteran wing patterns are a valuable system for understanding cellular development and differentiation of phenotypes with clear ecological functions. Butterfly wings are only two cells thick, with single epithelia making up the dorsal and ventral wing surfaces. The color patterns found on lepidopteran wings are formed from a mosaic of scale cells containing pigments or with structural coloration caused by the reflection of particular light wavelengths by ridges found on scale surfaces. Butterfly color patterns are laid down on top of a preexisting developmental genetic architecture that directs wing development and which determines the shape of each wing, allows for the functional specialization of forewings and hindwings and of dorsal and ventral wing surfaces, and which specifies the positions of the longitudinal veins on the wing. This architecture also provides a mechanism by which different regions on the wing can be regulated independently of one another. The Nymphalid ground plan is an archetype that can be used to compare and homologize color patterns from different Lepidoptera species. Many genes related to the determination of many color pattern elements within the Nymphalid ground plan have been identified, and for border ocelli (or eyespot) patterns in particular, a large genetic regulatory network for pattern formation and differentiation has been assembled. Many Lepidoptera model species have contributed to our understanding of butterfly color pattern development and evolution, but recent comparative genomic work examining of intraspecific and interspecific variation in Heliconius has identified new genes with important roles in pattern development.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

    Jeffrey M. Marcus

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  1. Jeffrey M. Marcus
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Correspondence to Jeffrey M. Marcus .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. The KLI Institute, Klosterneuburg, Austria

    Laura Nuno de la Rosa

  2. The KLI Institute, Klosterneuburg, Austria

    Gerd Müller

Section Editor information

  1. Mc Gill University, Montreal, Canada

    Ehab Abouheif

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Marcus, J.M. (2019). Evo-Devo of Butterfly Wing Patterns. In: Nuno de la Rosa, L., Müller, G. (eds) Evolutionary Developmental Biology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33038-9_174-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33038-9_174-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-33038-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-33038-9

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