Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Funds Gene Editing Research to Identify Gene that Controls Butterfly Wing Color
Heliconius butterflies are a diverse and colorful group of species that live throughout tropical regions of Central and South America. Many of them have wing patterns and colors that mimic other species to protect themselves from predators, and new research by scientists from the University of Chicago shows that in one species, Heliconius cydno, just one gene controls whether the butterfly has white or yellow spots on its wings.
In the study, published Oct. 25 in Current Biology, the researchers developed a genetic map using white and yellow H. cydno butterflies. They then studied genome sequences to identify a single gene called aristaless1 (al1) that acted as a switch for yellow and white coloration....