Tian Shen, Asano Yoshimasa, Das Banerjee Tirtha, Komata Shinya, Wee Jocelyn Liang Qi, Lamb Abigail, Wang Yehan, Murugesan Suriya Narayanan, Fujiwara Haruhiko, Ui-Tei Kumiko, Wittkopp Patricia J, Monteiro Antónia
Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Science. 2024 Dec 6;386(6726):1135-1141. doi: 10.1126/science.adp7899. Epub 2024 Dec 5.
In Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), the genomic region around the gene is a "hotspot" locus, repeatedly implicated in generating intraspecific melanic wing color polymorphisms across 100 million years of evolution. However, the identity of the effector gene regulating melanic wing color within this locus remains unknown. We show that none of the four candidate protein-coding genes within this locus, including , serve as major effectors. Instead, a microRNA (miRNA), , serves as the major effector across three deeply diverged lineages of butterflies, and its role is conserved in . In Lepidoptera, is derived from a gigantic primary long noncoding RNA, , and it functions by directly repressing multiple pigmentation genes. We show that a miRNA can drive repeated instances of adaptive evolution in animals.
在鳞翅目（蝴蝶和蛾类）中，基因周围的基因组区域是一个“热点”位点，在长达1亿年的进化过程中，该位点反复与种内黑色翅膀颜色多态性的产生有关。然而，该位点内调节黑色翅膀颜色的效应基因的身份仍然未知。我们发现，该位点内的四个候选蛋白质编码基因，包括 ，都不是主要效应基因。相反，一种微小RNA（miRNA）， 在三个深度分化的蝴蝶谱系中作为主要效应基因，并且其作用在 中是保守的。在鳞翅目中， 源自一个巨大的初级长链非编码RNA， ，它通过直接抑制多个色素沉着基因发挥作用。我们表明，一种miRNA可以推动动物适应性进化的重复实例。
