| Presentation Detail
EvoDevo Shirai, LT [1], Beldade, P [1]. Morphological diversification through the evolution of developmental networks. Changes in development directly impact the final form of an organism and compose the natural variation that is the raw material for evolution. Development is hierarchically structured in progressive series of cell fate determination and differentiation. So where in the developmental hierarchy are the differences that lead to morphological diversification? I explore this issue in a simple system where the fate of neighboring cells corresponds to particular colors: butterfly wing patterns. In butterfly wings, the arrangement of monochromatic cells of different colors produces pigment patterns that are ecologically relevant and have greatly diversified in evolution. We focus on a particular pattern element, eyespots, where there is knowledge about underlying genetic networks involved in providing cells with positional information (determination) and in pigment biosynthesis (differentiation). Comparative gene expression patterns for the former reveals unexpected variation across butterfly families for which gene combinations are associated to each color. That contrasts with comparative timing of pigment deposition found in the latter: the sequence of pigment deposition occurs in a stereotypical fashion, with specific colors appearing in a conserved order. I will discuss work exploring how the association between cell fate, location, and timing of differentiation can be changed to produce intra- and inter-specific differences in pigmentation patterns. Our data helps addressing the issue of whether evolutionarily relevant phenotypic variation is concentrated on the determination versus differentiation steps of color pattern development.
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1 - Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Rua da Quinta Grande, 6, Oeiras, Lisboa, 2780-156, Portugal
Keywords:
cell fate
determination versus differentiation
color pattern
butterfly eyespot.
Presentation Type: Regular Oral Presentation
Session: 31
Location: Rendezvous A/Snowbird Center
Date: Saturday, June 22nd, 2013
Time: 1:45 PM
Number: 31002
Abstract ID:333
Candidate for Awards:W.D. Hamilton Award for Outstanding Student Presentation |
