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The genetics of monarch butterfly migration and warning colouration

Author

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  • Shuai Zhan

    (Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences
    University of Chicago
    University of Massachusetts Medical School)

  • Wei Zhang

    (University of Chicago)

  • Kristjan Niitepõld

    (Stanford University
    University of Helsinki, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland)

  • Jeremy Hsu

    (Stanford University)

  • Juan Fernández Haeger

    (Ecología y Fisiología Vegetal, Universidad de Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain)

  • Myron P. Zalucki

    (School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland)

  • Sonia Altizer

    (Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia)

  • Jacobus C. de Roode

    (Emory University)

  • Steven M. Reppert

    (University of Massachusetts Medical School)

  • Marcus R. Kronforst

    (University of Chicago)

Abstract

The monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus, is famous for its spectacular annual migration across North America, recent worldwide dispersal, and orange warning colouration. Despite decades of study and broad public interest, we know little about the genetic basis of these hallmark traits. Here we uncover the history of the monarch’s evolutionary origin and global dispersal, characterize the genes and pathways associated with migratory behaviour, and identify the discrete genetic basis of warning colouration by sequencing 101 Danaus genomes from around the globe. The results rewrite our understanding of this classic system, showing that D. plexippus was ancestrally migratory and dispersed out of North America to occupy its broad distribution. We find the strongest signatures of selection associated with migration centre on flight muscle function, resulting in greater flight efficiency among migratory monarchs, and that variation in monarch warning colouration is controlled by a single myosin gene not previously implicated in insect pigmentation.

Suggested Citation

  • Shuai Zhan & Wei Zhang & Kristjan Niitepõld & Jeremy Hsu & Juan Fernández Haeger & Myron P. Zalucki & Sonia Altizer & Jacobus C. de Roode & Steven M. Reppert & Marcus R. Kronforst, 2014. "The genetics of monarch butterfly migration and warning colouration," Nature, Nature, vol. 514(7522), pages 317-321, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:514:y:2014:i:7522:d:10.1038_nature13812
    DOI: 10.1038/nature13812
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    Cited by:

    1. Tomasz Suchan & Clément P. Bataille & Megan S. Reich & Eric Toro-Delgado & Roger Vila & Naomi E. Pierce & Gerard Talavera, 2024. "A trans-oceanic flight of over 4,200 km by painted lady butterflies," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.
    2. M. Jerome Beetz & Christian Kraus & Basil el Jundi, 2023. "Neural representation of goal direction in the monarch butterfly brain," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-13, December.

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