Developmental Architecture of Structure and Color on Butterfly Wings

蝴蝶翅膀结构和颜色的发育架构

• 批准号: 2108227
• 负责人: Brian Counterman
• 金额: $ 72.2万
• 依托单位: Auburn University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-10-01 至 2022-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2108227&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Developmental; Architecture; Structure; Color; Butterfly

Color patterns are one of nature's most dynamically rich and important signals of communication among plants and animals. In nature, these colors are produced by either pigments or structures that reflect different wavelengths of light. This project leverages the dramatic diversity in butterfly wing color patterns to study the biological basis of pattern development. The relative simplicity and the accessibility of butterfly wings make them attractive model systems for the study of pattern formation. Using a combination of genome sequencing, microscopy and gene-editing, the project will identify the genes involved in the formation of complex color patterns. These results will provide valuable insights into basic biological processes that control cell and tissue development. The research will provide hands-on training for undergraduate and graduate students in molecular and computational biology methods. Through "Butterfly Roadshows" and other outreach events, the researchers will engage K-6 students with immersive activities that explore butterfly diversity using origami paper microscopes, which students can continue to use in their own backyards. Collectively, the outcomes of this research program will represent a major milestone for understanding the genetic and developmental processes that orchestrate color patterning and how complex, biologically-important color-based signals are generated in nature.The aim of this project is to explore the developmental genetics of structural coloration using butterfly wing patterns as a model system. Butterfly wings form large arrays of differentiating epithelial cells that determine scale fate, and ultimately, the final color pattern of the wing. Colors are the result of pigments and/or structures of individual wing scales that reflect different wavelengths of light. Unlike pigment-based colors, structural colors result from three-dimensional nanostructures that manipulate the behavior of light. Although the developmental and genetic basis of pigment-based variation is well understood in a wide array of organisms, little is known about the generative processes responsible for structural coloration. The natural arrangements of butterfly scale types in space, their sexual dimorphism, and the ability to assay position specific gene expression patterns across the wing throughout development provides an unparalleled opportunity to identify the genes and developmental processes responsible for patterning and activating highly specialized cellular states. Through a combination of transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq), in situ hybridizations, immunofluorescence, electroporation and CRISPR genome editing, this study aspires to provide a direct connection between changes in gene networks and cytostructural variation. The project team members will also implement a multifaceted outreach and educational program that will (1) establish a vibrant Student Training Program, (2) actively recruit students from underrepresented groups, and (3) develop a public outreach program that engages students in hands-on, inquiry-based discovery. These efforts by the project team will ensure the impacts extend well beyond the specific research objectives.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

颜色模式是大自然在动植物中交流最丰富，最重要的信号之一。在自然界中，这些颜色是由反映不同光波长的颜料或结构产生的。该项目利用蝴蝶翼颜色模式的戏剧性多样性来研究模式开发的生物学基础。蝴蝶翅膀的相对简单性和可访问性使它们成为研究模式形成的有吸引力的模型系统。使用基因组测序，显微镜和基因编辑的组合，该项目将确定与复杂颜色模式形成有关的基因。这些结果将为控制细胞和组织发育的基本生物学过程提供宝贵的见解。这项研究将为分子和计算生物学方法的本科和研究生提供动手培训。通过“蝴蝶路演”和其他外展活动，研究人员将使用折纸纸显微镜探索蝴蝶多样性的身临其境的活动，学生可以继续在自己的后院使用。总的来说，该研究计划的结果将代表理解精心策划颜色图案的遗传和发展过程的主要里程碑，以及在自然界中如何产生基于生物学的基于生物学的基于生物学上的基于颜色的信号。该项目的目的是探索使用蝴蝶机翼作为模型系统的结构颜色的发展遗传学。蝴蝶翅膀形成了大量的分化上皮细胞，这些细胞决定了尺度的命运，最终是机翼的最终颜色模式。颜色是颜料和/或单个机翼尺度的结构的结果，反映了不同的光波长。与颜料的颜色不同，结构颜色是由操纵光行为的三维纳米结构产生的。尽管在各种生物体中可以很好地理解了基于色素的变异的发育和遗传基础，但对负责结构色素的生成过程知之甚少。蝴蝶量表类型在空间中的自然排列，其性二态性以及在整个发育过程中分析整个机翼的特定基因表达模式的能力，为识别负责模式和激活高度专业的细胞状态的基因和发育过程提供了无与伦比的机会。通过转录组测序（RNA-SEQ）的结合，原位杂交，免疫荧光，电穿孔和CRISPR基因组编辑，这项研究渴望提供基因网络和细胞结构变化的变化之间的直接联系。项目团队成员还将实施一个多方面的外展和教育计划，该计划将（1）建立一个充满活力的学生培训计划，（2）积极招募来自代表性不足的小组的学生，以及（3）制定公共外展计划，该计划使学生互动基于询问，基于询问的发现。项目团队的这些努力将确保影响远远超出了特定的研究目标。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是值得通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响审查标准的评估来支持的。