Figures
Butterfly eyespots.
Many species in the butterfly family Nymphalidae are characterized by conspicuous eyespot patterns on their wings. In this issue, Oliver et al. show that these eyespots and the expression of associated developmental genes evolved once, approximately 90 million years ago. In some lineages however, gene expression underwent significant changes, with many genes being turned off without a corresponding loss of eyespots. These data suggest that the origin of novel traits proceeds via the co-option of complex, preexisting gene regulatory networks that later become streamlined for their novel function.
Image Credit: Jeffrey C. Oliver (Yale University).
Citation: (2012) PLoS Genetics Issue Image | Vol. 8(8) August 2012. PLoS Genet 8(8): ev08.i08. https://doi.org/10.1371/image.pgen.v08.i08
Published: August 30, 2012
Copyright: © Oliver. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Many species in the butterfly family Nymphalidae are characterized by conspicuous eyespot patterns on their wings. In this issue, Oliver et al. show that these eyespots and the expression of associated developmental genes evolved once, approximately 90 million years ago. In some lineages however, gene expression underwent significant changes, with many genes being turned off without a corresponding loss of eyespots. These data suggest that the origin of novel traits proceeds via the co-option of complex, preexisting gene regulatory networks that later become streamlined for their novel function.
Image Credit: Jeffrey C. Oliver (Yale University).