Monteiro Antónia
Department Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, 165 Prospect St, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA.
Bioessays. 2008 Apr;30(4):358-66. doi: 10.1002/bies.20733.
Serial homology is widespread in organismal design, but the origin and individuation of these repeated structures appears to differ with the different types of serial homologues, and remains an intriguing and exciting topic of research. Here I focus on the evolution of the serially repeated eyespots that decorate the margin of the wings of nymphalid butterflies. In this system, unresolved questions relate to the evolutionary steps that lead to the appearance of these serial homologues and how their separate identities evolved. I present and discuss two alternative hypotheses. The first proposes that eyespots first appeared as a row of undifferentiated repeated modules, one per wing compartment, that later become individuated. This individuation allowed eyespots to appear and disappear from specific wing compartments and also allowed eyespots to acquire different morphologies. The second hypothesis proposes that eyespots first appeared as individuated single units, or groups of units, that over evolutionary time were co-opted into new compartments on the wing. I discuss the merits of each of these alternate hypotheses by finding analogies to other systems and propose research avenues for addressing these issues in the future.
序列同源性在生物体设计中广泛存在，但这些重复结构的起源和个体化似乎因序列同源物的不同类型而异，并且仍然是一个引人入胜且令人兴奋的研究课题。在这里，我将重点关注装饰蛱蝶翅膀边缘的一系列重复眼斑的进化。在这个系统中，尚未解决的问题涉及导致这些序列同源物出现的进化步骤，以及它们各自的特征是如何进化的。我提出并讨论了两种替代假说。第一种假说认为，眼斑最初作为一排未分化的重复模块出现，每个翅室一个，后来逐渐个体化。这种个体化使得眼斑能够在特定的翅室中出现和消失，也使得眼斑能够获得不同的形态。第二种假说认为，眼斑最初作为个体化的单个单元或单元组出现，在进化过程中被纳入翅膀上的新翅室。我通过寻找与其他系统的类比来讨论每种替代假说的优点，并提出未来解决这些问题的研究途径。
