2010 August

Mutations affecting eyespot morphology in Bicyclus anynana butterflies shed light on the developmental basis of novel traits

Eyespot morphology in Bicyclus anynana is affected by mutations in a locus that is also important for embryonic segment polarity, and is thought to encode a negative regulator of Wingless signalling that may play an important part in the evolution of novel traits. Three different mutations in this locus lead to different eyespot size and/or color phenotypes. The butterfly depicted in the present image carries a mutation that leads to greatly enlarged eyespots.

Taken from: Patrícia Beldade et al., 2010, BMC Biology [View article]

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