Department of Ecology & Evolution, University of Chicago, USA.
Department of Ecology & Evolution, University of Chicago, USA.
Curr Opin Insect Sci. 2023 Oct;59:101079. doi: 10.1016/j.cois.2023.101079. Epub 2023 Jun 28.
Monarch butterflies have emerged as a model system in migration genetics. Despite inherent challenges associated with studying the integrative phenotypes that characterize migration, recent research has highlighted genes and transcriptional networks underlying aspects of the monarch's migratory syndrome. Circadian clock genes and the vitamin A synthesis pathway regulate reproductive diapause initiation, while diapause termination appears to involve calcium and insulin signaling. Comparative approaches have highlighted genes that distinguish migratory and nonmigratory monarch populations, as well as genes associated with natural variation in propensity to initiate diapause. Population genetic techniques demonstrate that seasonal migration can collapse patterns of spatial structure at continental scales, whereas loss of migration can drive differentiation between even nearby populations. Finally, population genetics can be applied to reconstruct the monarch's evolutionary history and search for contemporary demographic changes, which can provide relevant context for understanding recently observed declines in overwintering North American monarch numbers.
黑脉金斑蝶已经成为迁移遗传学的模式系统。尽管研究表征迁移的综合表型存在固有挑战，但最近的研究强调了黑脉金斑蝶迁徙综合征的某些方面所涉及的基因和转录网络。生物钟基因和维生素 A 合成途径调节生殖滞育的开始，而滞育的终止似乎涉及钙和胰岛素信号。比较方法突出了区分迁徙和非迁徙黑脉金斑蝶种群的基因，以及与开始滞育的自然变异相关的基因。群体遗传学技术表明，季节性迁移可以使大陆尺度的空间结构模式崩溃，而迁移的丧失会导致即使是附近的种群之间也会产生分化。最后，群体遗传学可以用来重建黑脉金斑蝶的进化历史，并寻找当代的人口变化，这可以为理解最近观察到的北美越冬黑脉金斑蝶数量下降提供相关背景。
