The ivory lncRNA regulates seasonal color patterns in buckeye butterflies
Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are transcribed elements increasingly recognized for their roles in regulating gene expression. Thus far, however, we have little understanding of how lncRNAs contribute to evolution and adaptation. Here, we show that a conserved lncRNA, , is an important color patterni...
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Published in | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 121; no. 41; p. e2403426121 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
United States
National Academy of Sciences
08.10.2024
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are transcribed elements increasingly recognized for their roles in regulating gene expression. Thus far, however, we have little understanding of how lncRNAs contribute to evolution and adaptation. Here, we show that a conserved lncRNA,
, is an important color patterning gene in the buckeye butterfly
.
overlaps with
, a locus linked to multiple cases of crypsis and mimicry in Lepidoptera. Along with a companion paper by Livraghi et al., we argue that
, not
, is the color pattern gene of interest at this locus. In
, a cluster of
-regulatory elements (CREs) in the first intron of
are genetically associated with natural variation in seasonal color pattern plasticity, and targeted deletions of these CREs phenocopy seasonal phenotypes. Deletions of different
CREs produce other distinct phenotypes as well, including loss of melanic eyespot rings, and positive and negative changes in overall wing pigmentation. We show that the color pattern transcription factors Spineless, Bric-a-brac, and Ftz-f1 bind to the
promoter during wing pattern development, suggesting that they directly regulate
. This case study demonstrates how
-regulation of a single noncoding RNA can exert diverse and nuanced effects on the evolution and development of color patterns, including modulating seasonally plastic color patterns. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0027-8424 1091-6490 1091-6490 |
DOI: | 10.1073/pnas.2403426121 |