美国康奈尔大学Robert D. Reed研究团队取得一项新突破。他们解释了蝴蝶基因同化的季节性颜色模式的基因组结构。相关论文于2020年11月6日发表于国际顶尖学术期刊《科学》。

他们同化了蝴蝶（Junonia coenia）的天然可塑性种群中的季节性翅膀颜色表型，并表征了三个相关基因。内分泌测定以及染色质可及性和构象分析表明，通过选择下游翅膀模式基因的调控等位基因，翅膀的颜色会发生从环境决定性状到主要遗传性状的过渡。

这种遗传进化模式可能会受到选择的青睐，因为它允许对组织和性状进行反应规范的特定调节，而不会影响核心因素的检测或转导机制。

据了解，发育可塑性使基因组可以编码多种不同的表型，这些表型可以根据环境因素进行差异表达。尽管仍不清楚这种机制，但可以通过称为遗传同化的过程选择其他可塑性表型。

附：英文原文

Title: Genomic architecture of a genetically assimilated seasonal color pattern

Author: Karin R. L. van der Burg, James J. Lewis, Benjamin J. Brack, Richard A. Fandino, Anyi Mazo-Vargas, Robert D. Reed

Issue&Volume: 2020/11/06

Abstract: Developmental plasticity allows genomes to encode multiple distinct phenotypes that can be differentially manifested in response to environmental cues. Alternative plastic phenotypes can be selected through a process called genetic assimilation, although the mechanisms are still poorly understood. We assimilated a seasonal wing color phenotype in a naturally plastic population of butterflies (Junonia coenia) and characterized three responsible genes. Endocrine assays and chromatin accessibility and conformation analyses showed that the transition of wing coloration from an environmentally determined trait to a predominantly genetic trait occurred through selection for regulatory alleles of downstream wing-patterning genes. This mode of genetic evolution is likely favored by selection because it allows tissue- and trait-specific tuning of reaction norms without affecting core cue detection or transduction mechanisms.

DOI: 10.1126/science.aaz3017

Source: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/370/6517/721