Evolutionary Ecology and Genetics Group, Earth and Life Institute, UC Louvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
Center for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c) & Global Change and Sustainability Institute (CHANGE), Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon (FCUL), 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal.
Genes (Basel). 2022 Jul 31;13(8):1372. doi: 10.3390/genes13081372.
Unraveling the origin of molecular pathways underlying the evolution of adaptive traits is essential for understanding how new lineages emerge, including the relative contribution of conserved ancestral traits and newly evolved derived traits. Here, we investigated the evolutionary divergence of sex pheromone communication from moths (mostly nocturnal) to butterflies (mostly diurnal) that occurred ~119 million years ago. In moths, it is the females that typically emit pheromones to attract male mates, but in butterflies males emit pheromones that are used by females for mate choice. The molecular bases of sex pheromone communication are well understood in moths, but they have remained relatively unexplored in butterflies. We used a combination of transcriptomics, real time qPCR, and phylogenetics to identify genes involved in the different steps (i.e., production, regulation, and reception) of sex pheromone communication of the butterfly . Our results show that the biosynthesis and reception of sex pheromones relies both on moth-specific gene families (reductases) and on more ancestral insect gene families (desaturases, olfactory receptors, odorant binding proteins). Interestingly, appears to use what was believed to be the moth-specific neuropeptide Pheromone Biosynthesis Activating Neuropeptide (PBAN) for regulating sex pheromone production. Altogether, our results suggest that a mosaic pattern best explains how sex pheromone communication evolved in butterflies, with some molecular components derived from moths, and others conserved from more ancient insect ancestors. This is the first large-scale investigation of the genetic pathways underlying sex pheromone communication in a butterfly.
揭示适应性特征进化背后的分子途径的起源对于理解新谱系的出现至关重要，包括保守的祖先特征和新进化的衍生特征的相对贡献。在这里，我们研究了大约 1.19 亿年前发生的从蛾类（主要是夜间活动）到蝴蝶类（主要是白天活动）的性信息素通讯的进化分歧。在蛾类中，通常是雌性发出信息素来吸引雄性配偶，但在蝴蝶中，雄性发出的信息素被雌性用于选择配偶。蛾类的性信息素通讯的分子基础已经得到很好的理解，但在蝴蝶中它们仍然相对未知。我们使用转录组学、实时 qPCR 和系统发生学相结合的方法来鉴定参与蝴蝶不同步骤（即产生、调节和接收）的性信息素通讯的基因。我们的结果表明，性信息素的生物合成和接收既依赖于蛾类特异性基因家族（还原酶），也依赖于更古老的昆虫基因家族（去饱和酶、嗅觉受体、气味结合蛋白）。有趣的是，似乎使用了以前被认为是蛾类特异性神经肽信息素生物合成激活神经肽（PBAN）来调节性信息素的产生。总之，我们的结果表明，镶嵌模式最能解释蝴蝶中性信息素通讯的进化方式，其中一些分子成分来自蛾类，而另一些则来自更古老的昆虫祖先。这是对蝴蝶中性信息素通讯遗传途径的首次大规模研究。
